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THE 



HISTORY 






OP 



CHARLEMAGNE. 



BY G. P.*R.'' JAMES, Esq. 
n 

AUTHOR OF " HISTORY OF CHIVALRY AND THE CRUSADES," 
"RICHELIEU," "PHILIP AUGUSTUS," &C. 



NEW-YORK : 

PRTNTED AND PUBLISHED BY J. & J. HARPER, 

NO. 82 CLIFF-STREET, 

AND SOLD BY THE BOOKSELLERS GENERALLY THROUGHOUT 
THE UNITED STATES. 



1833. 

Monograph 



7 

i 






FRANCE, 



IN 



THE LIVES OF HER GREAT MEN. 

BY G. P. R. JAMES, Esq. 



* 



VOL. I. 

CHARLEMAGNE. 



TO THE 

REV. WILLIAM CARMALT, 

PUTNEY, SURREY. 

My dear Sir, 

I can dedicate this work to no person so well 
as to one from whom any knowledge that I may 
possess was originally derived ; and the only 
regret which mingles with the pleasure I feel in 
offering you this volume is, that the book does not 
do far more credit to all the kind care that you be- 
stowed upon my youth. The fault, however, was 
in the scholar, and not in the preceptor : and had 
the soil which you took pains to cultivate been wor- 
thy of your labour, the fruit which is now presented 
to you would doubtless have been of a superior 
quality. 

In regard to the book itself I have very little to 
say. It is going forth to meet eyes far less partial 
than yours ; and I await the decision of the world, — 
a decision often harsh, but seldom unjust, — not 

A2 



VI DEDICATION. 

without anxiety, but not without hope ; for, although 
labour and research can never really supply the 
place of genius and judgment, yet I am unwilling 
to believe that the long study which, as you know, 
the work has cost me, can ever be wholly thrown 
away. 

One explanation should be given here, in regard 
to the distribution of events. Great obstacles pre- 
sented themselves, in the History of Charlemagne, 
either to proceeding chronologically, or to making a 
general classification of subjects, and treating each 
class distinctly. In respect to the first arrangement, 
such a multitude of wars, expeditions, and great 
public enterprises are found advancing at one time, 
in the latter years of the monarch's reign, that the 
mind of the reader would become fatigued, by flying 
from country to country, and from subject to subject, 
if the separate events of each campaign and each 
undertaking were to be noticed at the exact periods 
of their recurrence. On the other hand, were one 
to classify the various public acts of Charlemagne, the 
duration of his reign was so long, and the changes 
which took place so great, that each class would be- 
come a complete history ; and even then, the most 
extraordinary part of the picture would be nearly 



DEDICATION. Vll 

lost, — namely, the general, rapid, and continual 
advance of society under his exertions. 

In the first draught of the work, I proceeded 
chronologically throughout ; but in writing it out a 
second time, I deviated from that principle in a certain 
degree ; and though I conducted Charlemagne to the 
beginning of almost all his great undertakings, in the 
order in which they occurred, I pursued each war to 
its conclusion, as soon as I found that the reiteration 
of the same operations against the same nation was 
likely to become tedious to the reader. Whether I 
have done right or wrong, I do not at all feel sure ; 
but I imagine that I have gained something in 
brevity, without losing in perspicuity. 

I have always wished very much that the task 
had been undertaken by some one more competent 
than myself to do justice to such an enterprise ; 
but no accurate Life of Charlemagne had ever been 
written ; and I believe that in the following work I 
have corrected some of the errors to be found in 
former statements, and have added a few facts to the 
information which the world before possessed upon 
the subject. 

Should the book, by some fortunate chance, meet 
with greater success than it deserves, or than I ex- 
pect, no one, I know, will more sincerely rejoice 



VH1 DEDICATION. 

than yourself; and the pleasure which I am sure 
you will feel, will add infinitely to that experienced 
on his own account, by, 

My dear sir, 
Yours ever, sincerely and affectionately, 
G. P. R. JAMES. 

Maxi>offle, near Melrose, Roxburghshire, 
June 4, 1832. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



It is the intention of the author of this work to 
follow up the present sketch of the Life of Charle- 
magne by a series of volumes on the same principle, 
illustrating the History of France by the Lives of 
her Great Men. Each volume, though forming a 
distinct work, will be connected with that which pre- 
ceded it by a view of the intervening period. 

In regard to the Engravings to be found among 
these pages, a few words of explanation may be 
necessary. The authenticity of the first is vouched 
in the strongest manner by Allemanni, though 
doubted by Mabillon. Perhaps the opinion of the 
former may be preferable, as that of a man who 
passed the greater part of his life in the study of 
the antiquities of the age to which the portrait is 
ascribed. The copy here given was procured from 
the original illumination in the monastery of Saint 
Calisto, in Rome, expressly for the present work, by 



X ADVERTISEMENT. 

the king exertions of a friend, to whom the author 
begs to offer his best thanks. 

The other Engravings are from seals of Charle- 
magne, preserved by Le Blanc and Blanchini, and in 
regard to their authenticity there is no doubt. In 
the lower, the band round the head of Charlemagne 
is supposed to represent the patrician crown ; and 
the inscriptions on both are given according to the 
readings of the learned antiquaries to whom we 
owe the preservation of the seals. 

The author cannot lay down his pen without 
expressing his deep sense of the kind and liberal 
aid he has received during his researches ; and 
begs especially to return his thanks to Professor 
Napier and John Dewar, Esq., to whom he is 
indebted for the means of obtaining much valuable 
information. 



CONTENTS. 



Pago 
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.— from a. d. 476 to a. d. 749 .. . 15 

HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 
BOOK I. 

PROM THE BIRTH OF CHARLEMAGNE, TO HIS ACCESSION. — FROM 
A. D. 742 TO A. D. 768. 

Birth of Charlemagne — His Mother Bertha— Coronation of his Father — 
His early Education unknown — Is sent to welcome Stephen II. on his 
Arrival in France — The Cause of the Pope's Journey — The Oppression 
of the Lombards — Pepin resolves to defend the Romans — Demands 
that the Pope should repeat his Coronation— Charlemagne is crowned 
with his Father— First Conquest of Lombardy by Pepin— Union of the 
Exarchate and Pentapolis to Rome— Second Conquest of Lombardy— 
War in Aquitaine— Death of Remistan— Death of Pepin— Pepin com- 
pared with Charles Martel 73 

BOOK II. 

FROM THE ACCESSION OF CHARLEMAGNE AND HIS BROTHER, TO 
THE DEATH OF CARLOMAN AND THE REUNION OF THE KING- 
DOM. — FROM A. D. 768 TO A. D. 771. 

The Accession of Charlemagne and his Brother— The Extent of their Do- 
minion—The Territories beyond the Rhine— The Nature of the Parti- 
tion between the Monarchs — Doubtful Sovereignty and Revolt of Aqui- 
taine— Its rapid Conquest by Charlemagne — Disunion between the 
Brothers— Events in Italy— Negotiations of Bertha— Charlemagne's 
first Marriage to the Daughter of the King of Lombardy — His Divorce 
—His second Marriage— The Enmity of Desiderius— The Death of 
Hunald— Of Car lorn an — The Widow of Carloman flies to Desiderius 
— The Nobles of Carloman elect Charlemagne — Reunion of the 
Monarchy 98 

BOOK III. 

FROM THE DEATH OF CARLOMAN, TO THE CAPTURE OF PAVIA. — 
FROM A. D. 771 TO A. D. 774. 

Some Account of the Saxons — Their continual Aggressions on the French 
Frontier— Charlemagne invades Saxony— Destruction of the Idol 
Irminsula— Submission of the Saxons— Circumstances of Italy — 
Intrgties ofDesdenus — Adrian elected Pope— His firm Resistance of 
the Lombards — Demands Aid from France— Charlemagne endeavours 
to negotiate with Desiderius— Marches to the Deliverance of Adrian — 
Passes the Alps— Siege of Pavia— Capture of Verona— His Reception 
in Rome— Fall of Pavia— Fate of Desiderius 125 



12 CONTENTS. 

BOOK IV. 

FROM THE CONQUEST OF LOMBARDY, TO THE BEGINNING OF THE 
SPANISH WAR. — FROM A. D. 774 TO A. D. 777. 

Charlemagne returns to France — Despatches a Force to punish the 
Saxons — His Habits of Business — He invades Saxony— His Rear- 
guard surprised- The Saxons defeated — Revolt of the Duke of Friuli 
— His Death — Treviso betrayed— Charlemagne returns to Saxony — 
Internal Administration — Character of the famous Witikind— His at- 
tempt to raise Saxony once more— Defeated by the Vigilance of Charle- 
magne—He flies to Denmark 160 

BOOK V. 

FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SPANISH WAR, TO THE INCOR- 
PORATION OF SAXONY WITH THE FRENCH DOMINIONS. — FROM 
A. D. 777 TO A. D. 780. 

TheStateof Spain— Charlemagne invited to invade Spain — His Prepara- 
tions — He passes the Pyrenees— Subjection of Arragon and Catalonia 
— Capture of Pampcluna— Battle of Saragossa— Establishment of the 
Spanish March — Charlemagne recalled to the North— Battle of Ronces- 
valles — Ravages committed by the Saxons— Battle of the Adern — 
Internal Regulations of Charlemagne— His Conduct to the Duke of 
Spoleto— Saxony incorporated with France — Retrospect of the Saxon 
War— The Saxon Capitularies 182 

BOOK VI. 

FROM THE INCORPORATION OF SAXONY, TO THE HOMAGE OF THE 
DUKE OF BAVARIA. — FROM A. D. 780 TO A. D. 782. 

Conspiracies of the Family of Desiderins— Charlemagne proceeds to 
Pavia— State of Italy — Aquitaine and Ttaly raised into separate King- 
doms in favour of Louis and Pepin— Changes in theSiateand Policy of 
Greece— Alliance of Irene and Charlemagne— Slaie of Great Britain- 
Charlemagne visited by Alcuin— The French Monarch returns from 
Italy— Submission of Tassilo Duke of Bavaria 207 

BOOK VII. 

FROM THE SUBMISSION OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA, TO THE 
BAPTISM OF WITIKIND, AND THE SUPPRESSION OF THE REVOLT 
OF BRITTANY. — FROM A. D. 782 TO A. D. 785. 

Efforts lo conciliate the Saxons— Envoys from Denmark and Hungary 
— Incursion of the Sclavonians— Revolt of Saxony — The Franks de- 
feated at Sinthal— Charlemagne takes the Field— His unusual Severity 
—Of no effect- Battle of Dethmold — Battle on ihe Hase— Saxony once 
more subdued— Witikind and Albion visit the Court of France— Are 
baptized— Charlemagne, after the Death of Hildegarde, marries Fas- 
trada-The Thuringian Conspiracy— Discovered— Punished— State of 
Brittany— Revolt of that Province— Its Subjection 225 



CONTENTS. 13 



BOOK VIII. 

FROM THE PACIFICATION OF SAXONY, TO THE DEFEAT OP 
ADALGISUS AND THE GREEKS IN ITALY. — FROM A. D. 785 TO 
A. D. 788. 

The Conspiracy of Arichis Duke of Beneventum, and Tassilo Duke of 
Bavaria, renewed — The doubtful Conduct of Greece — Charlemagne 
marches into Italy — Advances towards Beneventum — Arichis submits 
— The Alliance between France and Greece broken off— The Intrigues 
of Tassilo— Charlemagne marches against Bavaria— Tassilo submits — 
Charlemagne's Efforts for the Revival of Letters— Interrupted by the 
Alliance of Tassilo, Arichis, and Irene— Death of the Duke of Bene- 
ventum and his eldest Son— Charlemagne bestows the Dukedom on 
the second Son Grimwald — Progress of the Conspiracy — Forces des- 
patched to Italy — Arrest and Condemnation of the Duke of Bavaria — 
Landing of the Greeks in Italy— Their Defeat 245 



BOOK IX. 

FROM THE CONDEMNATION OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA, TO THE 
DECREES OF THE COUNCIL OF FRANKFORT. — FROM A. D. 788 
TO A. D. 794. 

Sketch of the History of the Avars— They invade both Friuli and 
Bavaria— Are defeated on both points— Again invade Bavaria, and 
are repelled -Charlemagne devotes himself to the Civilization of his 
Territories— Interrupted by the Attack of the Weletabes upon the Abo- 
drites— War against the Weletabes— Their Subjection— The Year of 
Peace— Progressive Improvement of France in the useful Arts- 
Negotiations with the Huns— Unsuccessful— Invasion of Hungary- 
Fortifications of (hat Country— Successes of the French Armies — 
The Felician Heresy— Synod of Ratisbon— Council of Frankfort— 
Libri Carolini '. 267 

BOOK X. 

FROM THE CONSPIRACY OF PEPIN THE HUNCHBACK, TO THE 
FINAL SUBJUGATION OF THE SAXONS. — FROM A. D. 792 TO 
A. D. 804. 

The Conspiracy of Pepin the Hunchback— His Birth and Character— Dis- 
covery of the Designs of the Conspirators— Their Trial and Condem- 
nation—Constitution of the General Assemblies of the Franks under 
Charlemagne, and their Functions -Counts of the Palace— Fresh 
Revolt of Saxony— France invaded by the Saracens— Defeat of Wil- 
helm Duke of Thoulouse, and the Troops of the Spanish March— Con- 
duct of Charlemagne— Project for the Union of the Rhine and the 
Danube— The Attempt abandoned— Death of the Queen Fastrada — 
"Wars with Saxony— Expatriation of the Saxons— Obiect, Necessity, 
and Advantage of the Subjugation of Saxony 293 

B 



14 CONTENTS. 



BOOK XI. 

FROM THE RENEWAL OF THE HUNGARIAN WAR, TO THE ELEC- 
TION OF LEO III. — FROM A. D. 794 TO A. D. 796. 

Internal Dissensions of the Huns — Treachery of Thudun— Herric Duke 
of Friuli ordered to invade Hungary — His Success — Pepin King of 
Italy invades Hungary — Captures the Fortress of the Ring — Death of 
Adrian I. — Election of Leo — He sends the Keys and Standard as an 
Act of Homage — Building of the Palace at Aix-la-Chapelle — The 
Palace College — Studies of Charlemagne— Progress of Literature in 
France— In Saxony 312 

BOOK XII. 

FROM THE RENEWAL OF HOSTILITIES IN THE SPANISH MARCH,. 
TO THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN LUIDGARDE. — FROM A. D. 797 
TO A. D. 800. 

Piratical Expeditions from Spain and Barbary — Chastised by Charle- 
magne — Renewal of the War in Spain — Zatun does Homage for Barce- 
lona — Louis carries on the War against the Saracens — Powerful 
Diversion effected in favour of the Gothic Christians — Victories of 
Alphonso the Chaste — Warfare with the Huns— Revolt of Thudun — 
Gerold Count of the Marches of Bavaria, and Herric Duke of Friuli, 
slain — Hungary subdued — Embassies to the Court of Charlemagne — 
From Constantine VI. to treat for Peace — From Irene, announcing the 
Deposition and Blinding of Constantine — From Haroun al Raschid — 
Rise of his Friendship with Charlemagne— His Presents to the Mon- 
, arch of the Franks — Sends him the Keys of Jerusalem — Norman Pira- 
cies — Measures to repel them from the Coasts of France and Germany 
—Death of Luidgarde 329 

BOOK XIII. 

FROM CHARLEMAGNE S LAST VISIT TO ROME, TO HIS DEATH. — 
FROM A. D. 800 TO A. D. 814. 

Affairs of Italy— Conspiracy of Paschal and Campulus— Attempted 
Mutilation of the Pope — His Recovery and Escape — Reinstated by 
Charlemagne— Examination of the Accusation brought against him — 
Charlemagne visits Rome — Investigates in person the Charges against 
Leo— They are unsupported— Charlemagne saluted and crowned 
Emperor of the Romans— War with Beneventum— Concluded— Nego- 
tiations concerning the Limits of the Eastern and Western Empires — 
With Irene — With Nicephorus— State of Venice — War with the Danes 
averted for a time — War with the Bohemians — Charter of Division 
between the Sons of Charlemagne— War with the Bohemians con- 
cluded — War with the Danes begun and ended— War with the Vene- 
tians — Death of the two elder Sons of Charlemagne — He associates 
Louis to the Throne— Death of Charlemagne— His Character... • 349 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 



One of the noblest possessions of the Roman em- 
pire was the province of ancient Gaul. Much blood 
and treasure had been expended in its conquest; 
infinite wisdom, moderation, and vigour had been 
displayed in the means taken to attach it to the do- 
minion of the Cesars ; and the passing of several 
centuries had strongly cemented the union, and in- 
corporated the conquered with their conquerors. 
Unwieldy bulk, enfeebling luxury, intestine divi- 
sions, and universal corruption soon, however, began 
to draw down the impending destruction upon the 
head of the imperial city. Attack after attack, inva- 
sion following invasion, left her still weaker under 
each succeeding monarch ; province after province 
was wrested from her sway, till at length Odoacer,* 
chief of the Scyrri, raised his standard in Italy; Rom- 

* The history of Odoacer is very obscure, notwithstanding all that 
Monsieur de Buat has done to clear it up. That he was the son of Edi- 
con, the chief of the Scyrri, seems to be established ; hut what was the 
life he led after the defeat of his nation by the Ostrogoths is not at all 
ascertained. My own belief is, that with the remnant of his people he 
joined the predatory Saxons who infested the coasts of France, and was 
the same who, in company with Childeric(Greg. Tur. lib. ii.), plundered 
the town of Angiers, and established himself at the mouth of the Loire, 
after the death of iEgidius. It would seem, that from that time he con- 
tinued a wandering and uncertain life, followed by a body of desperate 
adventurers, till the struggle between Nepos and Orestes, the weakness 
of the Roman state, and the turbulent rising of the barbarian mercena- 
ries by which it had been long supported, opened a new field to his ambi- 



16 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

ulus Augustulus yielded the empty symbols of an 
authority he did not possess ; and the Roman empire 
was no more. 

Previous to this period,* however, Gaul had been 
in fact, though not in name, separated from the fall- 
ing monarchy, and portioned out among a thousand 
barbarous tribes. t The country between the Rhone 
and the Alps had long been possessed by the Bur- 
gundians ; the Goths held the whole territories sit- 
uated between the Loire and the Pyrenees ; Brittany, 
or Armorica, was divided between fresh colonies of 
Saxons and the remains of the aborigines ; great 
part of the east of Belgium was in the hands of the 
Franks ; and the Roman legions that were still left 
to maintain the almost nominal possession of Gaul, 
cooped up in a narrow space, and threatened daily 
by active and warlike enemies, thought of nothing 
but casting off the control of their enfeebled country, 
and finding strength in independence. 

In the mean time the larger cities were filled with 
a mixed population, consisting partly of the Roman 
colonists, partly of the ancient Gauls, partly of their 
savage conquerors. Some few, indeed, either by 
accident or courageous resistance, had escaped the 
fury of the invaders and remained free, while all 
around them had been subdued; some had been 
sacked and left desolate ; and some, having been 
ceded by the falling emperors themselves to the 
Goths, or to any other of the tribes in temporary 
alliance with Rome, had passed more mildly under 
the sway of the barbarians, and enjoyed as much 
protection as could be afforded in times so disas- 
trous. 

Such was the general aspect of the province a 

tion. I cannot in any way receive the account of Theophanes, who mis- 
takes his history altogether, and calls him a Goth ; and still less the 
interpretation of Gibbon, who says that the words "nursed in Italy" 
must be understood to mean, " having served long in the imperial 
guards." 
* A.l>. 476. t Gregor. Turon. lib. ii. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 17 

little previous to the final overthrow of the Roman 
empire. But those were days of change, when 
nothing was fixed ; and the nation which ruled to- 
day, to-morrow had passed away, and was unknown ; 
and all that continued with unaltered force was 
ravage, disorder, and destruction. 

Each of the savage tribes of the north, in its pas- 
sage to more fertile regions, had expended its first 
fury on the plains of Gaul, and had contributed to 
sweep away letters, and institutions, and arts. 

" Innumerable nations of barbarians," says St. Je- 
rome, in his letter to Aggerunchia,* " took posses- 
sion of the whole of Gaul. The Quadi, the Vandals, 
the Sarmatians, the Alani, the Gepidas, the Herculi, 
Saxons, Burgundians, Germans, and Panonians — 
horrible republic ! — ravaged the whole country be- 
tween the Alps, the Pyrenees, the ocean, and the 
Rhine. Assur was with them. Mayence, formerly 
a famous city, was taken and sacked, and thousands 
of its inhabitants massacred. Worms was ruined by 
a long siege ; the people of the powerful cities of 
Rheims, Amiens, and Arras, the Morini, situated in 
the far parts of Belgium, and the inhabitants of Tour- 
nay, Spires, and Strasburg, were transported into 
Germany. Aquitaine, the Lyonaise, and the Nar- 
bonaise were entirely devastated, except some few 
of the towns ; and these the steel smote without, 
while famine desolated them within." 

The Goths, the Vandals, and the Huns added, 
one after the other, a fresh load to the mountain of 
calamities piled up on unhappy Gaul ; and often left 
scattered colonies behind, still to devour the land, 
and to carry on the work of barbarism so signally 
begun. 

With such a picture before our eyes, it is scarcely 
possible to conceive the existence of any thing like 
•a state of society regulated, even in the slightest 

* Flodoard, cap. vi. 

B 2 



18 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

degree, by fixed principles. In what relationship 
could man live with man, when all ties were broken, 
and when the discordant elements of the population 
offered a chaos of different nations, languages, man- 
ners, and ideas, precluding the possibility even of 
that simple form of government common among 
savage nations 1 In the fields and plains, then, it is 
probable that the whole was chaotic confusion, and 
that for a long time all rule was at an end, except 
that rule which it is the object of every law to cor- 
rect, — the rule of the strong over the weak. 

"Within the larger cities, however, two or three 
principles of security still existed. In those towns 
which had resisted the barbarians, it seems that the 
institutions of Rome yet remained almost entire ; 
and that, though the inhabitants were cut off from 
the source of their laws, the necessity of combina- 
tion for the general defence maintained at least 
some internal regularity and order. The extent to 
which the Roman law was preserved during the 
middle ages is a question of great difficulty, and one 
on which I am not called to enter at large in this 
place, more especially as the subject has been 
argued ably elsewhere. That it was preserved in 
a considerable degree is evident from the continual 
reference made to it by all the barbarian codes ; 
and the cause of the permanence of the municipal 
institutions of Rome, while all other principles of 
government were swept away, may probably be dis- 
covered in the popular and independent character 
of the civic constitution throughout the whole 
empire. 

This independent civic constitution originated in 
Italy itself; but being extended more or less to all 
the provinces by the emperors, it was especially per- 
fected in Gaul; and it is worth while to examine 
what was really the municipal government of a Gallic 
city under the sway of Rome, in order to form some 
opinion of the conservative influence which those 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 19 

institutions still exercised in the midst of the con- 
vulsions which rent the empire at its fall. 

The model of each provincial city was Rome 
itself; and as the institutions of the great capital 
varied by the progress of time, so the forms of local 
administration changed. The general assemblies 
of the people were the original source of power ; in 
them the laws were at first enacted, and a popular 
council or senate chosen, which gradually took the 
whole authority into its own hands. The name of 
this municipal council was, in the early days of the 
empire, Ordo Decurionum ; but at length it was 
termed simply Curia; and its members were called 
decurions, or curiales. Sometimes, also, they re- 
ceived the name of senators, although this would 
seem to have been an appellation of courtesy. 

The internal management of the affairs of the city, 
combining both the legislative and the executive 
authority, was the chief function of the Curia ; but, 
in Italy itself, the magisterial jurisdiction was in- 
trusted to an officer sometimes called duumvir, 
sometimes quatuorvir, or magistratus, who was cho- 
sen by the decurions from their own body, though 
the imperial governors, and often the retiring magis- 
trate, exercised great influence in the election. In 
the provinces, however, no such magistrate existed, 
except in a few cases ; and the presidency of the 
council was intrusted to the eldest decurion, while 
the magisterial functions were exercised by the 
whole as a body. Thus, at the time of the barbarian 
invasions, a popular power and an individual gov- 
ernment was found in each of the cities, independent 
of the state. Its conservative influence was great 
while suffered to exist, and it was easily renewable 
when casually overturned by any passing torrent of 
barbarians. 

These, in general, contented themselves with 
plunder and massacre, and neither strove for nor 
desired a lengthened possession of the places they 



20 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

captured. Even those cities which were taken by 
the Vandals and the Huns were generally abandoned 
by them as soon as they were pillaged ; so that such 
of the inhabitants as had effected their escape to 
any place of refuge came back when the desolating 
force had passed by, and possibly resumed their 
habits as well as their dwellings. 

Such was the case when the city of Rheims was 
besieged and taken by the barbarians.* Satisfied 
with their plunder, and by no means disposed to 
remain stationary in any one spot, the body of Van- 
dals by which it had been subdued speedily left the 
city, which afforded them no further object for their 
rapacity ; and the inhabitants who had fled to the 
mountains returned, taking care to ascribe their de- 
liverance from their cruel enemies to a miraculous 
interposition of Heaven. 

There was another power also which acted to pre- 
serve the seeds of order in the cities, to bind at least 
a portion of the population together by strong and 
indissoluble ties, and to maintain one species of 
authority while every other authority was at an 
end, — I mean the Christian religion, and the power 
cast into the hands of the church by an influencing 
feeling totally apart from the frail and falling insti- 
tutions of humanity whereby it was surrounded. 

Christianity had then been long preached in Gaul ; 
and, in spite of the barbarous ignorance which ob- 
scured it, and the dark superstitions with which it 
was mingled, its innate principles of union, benevo- 
lence, and peace were felt where every other good 
feeling was overwhelmed, and tended potently to 
preserve order in the midst of a thousand causes 
of disorganization. Perhaps even the very blind 
and enthusiastic superstition of the Christians of 
that age, the multitude of miracles which they sup- 
posed themselves capable of performing, and the 

* Flodoard, cap. v.i. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 21 

many wonderful interpositions of Heaven which they 
reported in their own favour, was not without its 
use, both in commanding respect for the only chas- 
tening principle that yet remained, and in preparing 
the minds of the semi-barbarous Romans, and of 
the deeper savages with whom they were now min- 
gled, for a religion the least superstitious in its own 
nature of any doctrine that ever was promulgated 
on earth. 

Far is it from my object to countenance deceit, or 
even policy, in any matter of religion — a matter 
which neither requires nor admits of prop or guid- 
ance from mortal man. But still, it is the business 
of the historian not only to state events but to ex- 
amine their causes, and to trace their effects ; and it 
appears to me an indisputable fact, that the supersti- 
tion with which the vivid imagination of a barbarous 
people clothed the simplest and purest of doctrines 
served to assimilate it to their own minds, and to 
ensure easier reception to principles calculated in 
the end to elevate, to purify, and to correct. In a 
worldly point of view it did much more : it added an 
imaginary dignity in the eyes of the people to the 
real dignity of devotion and a holy life ; and by 
makingthe clergy respected and reverenced, it called 
those who were great and powerful, not only to em- 
brace the faith, but, on interested motives, to solicit 
those stations in the church which added to their 
consideration with their countrymen, in an age when 
the multitude of followers and adherents was the 
only means of safety. Thus we find the various; 
bishoprics of Gaul as strenuously solicited and in- 
trigued for in the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries as 
any mundane honour of our latter days ; and the 
writers of those ages, in general, state all the great 
dignitaries of their church to have sprung from 
families which they qualify as possessing senatorial 
rank, or great wealth and possessions.* 

* Greg. Tur. passim, Ann. Bertiniani, Flodoardus. 



22 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

It is true, that to counterbalance in the eyes of the 
worldly any advantages which the higher stations 
of the church might possess, there were to be 
thrown into the opposite scale frequent persecutions, 
tortures, and even martyrdom ; but it must be re- 
membered that such a fate rarely fell on any but the 
more zealous, who made themselves prominent by 
their enthusiasm, and like elevated points in a thun- 
der-storm, drew down the fire upon themselves by 
their very pre-eminence. To these, however, their 
zeal was a sufficient support. They coveted the 
name of martyr ; and it is probable that the heroic 
constancy with which they bore the most excru- 
ciating suffering did more to strengthen and confirm 
the faithful, and to convert all who possessed that 
nobler fire of the mind which is so easily exalted 
into enthusiasm, than the prospect even of honours, 
dignity, and power did to attract the worldly and 
interested. 

Thus spread the Christian religion through a great 
part of Gaul; and the power given by it to the 
bishops, the remains of the municipal senates estab- 
lished by the Romans, together with the few and 
simple laws of the barbarians, formed the whole 
guarantee of order, of property, and of life, in that 
day, — a frail tenure by which to hold both existence 
and tranquillity, it is true ; but still it was some 
check upon man's unruly passions — some barrier in 
the way of absolute anarchy. 

The laws of the barbarians just mentioned were 
of course very different, according to the habits and 
degree of civilization of the various nations which 
had formed them. In most cases they were simply 
traditionary, and frequently depended in all points 
on the will of the chief by whom the tribe was led. 
An exception, however, to this want of regular writ- 
ten institutions is to be found in the case of the Bur- 
gundians,who seem to have been influenced by more 
settled habits than the rest of the invaders of Gaul. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 23 

They first set the example of establishing written 
laws.* This undertaking — one of the greatest steps 
in the progress of civilization — was begun, if not 
completed, by Gondebald, King of Burgundy, who, 
somewhere about the year 500,f caused to be pub- 
lished part of the loi Gombette,J as it is now called, 
about a century after the compilation of the Theo- 
dosian, and about thirty years prior to the Justinian 
code. 

Remarkable in itself as the first of the barbarous 
codes of law, this composition is still more so in 
two other points of view. In the first place, the 
very cause of its institution, as stated by Gregory 
of Tours, shows, in a melancholy degree, to what a 
pitch of degradation the great overthrower of all 
dynasties had already reduced the mighty Romans, 
— the conquerors and oppressors of the world. 

"Gondibert," says the historian, " having recovered 
his dominion over all that part of the country now 
called Burgundy, he therein instituted milder laws, 
that the Romans might not be oppressed !"§ Two cen- 
turies before, who had dared to oppress a Roman ? 
In the second place, this code is not a little curious 
as fixing the origin of judicial combats ;|| for here do 
we find, for the first time, that barbarous and unjust 
mode of judgment authorized as a law. Among a 

* I have embraced the opinion of Monsieur Guizot, that the loi Gom- 
bette was compiled prior to the Salique law. The preface to the Bur- 
gundian code makes mention of the second year of Gondebald, which 
refers to A. D. 468, several years before the accession of Clovis, and it 
does not appear demonstrated that either the Salique or Ripuarian codes 
were committed to writing before the conversion of that monarch to 
Christianity, many years after the publication of the first Burgundian 
code. The subject, however, is involved in much obscurity, and it is 
probable will ever remain in doubt. For various opinions, see Guizot, 
Mably, Savigny, Heineccius, Boulainvilliers, &c. 

t The various laws of this code appear to have been published at many 
distinct times, and we find references therein to different events, dated 
from A. D. 467 to A. D. 517. 

} On examining this law as it has come down to us, it evidently ap- 
pears to be formed of two distinct parts; the first referable to the reign 
of Gondebald, and the second probably to that of Sigismond, his son. 

$ Greg. Tur. lib. ii. || Loi Gombette, cap. 45. 



24 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

people whose manners, wishes, arts, and knowledge 
were all referable in some way to the idea of attack 
and defence, whose acquisitions had been made by 
the sword, and by the sword alone could be main- 
tained, it was not wonderful that strength and 
courage should have been ranked as virtues, and 
weakness and cowardice should have been in them- 
selves looked upon as crimes ; but when to this was 
added a firm belief in the immediate and apparent 
interposition of Heaven in all human affairs, the 
trial by battle was the natural result both of national 
feeling's and religious impressions. 

Long before the fall of the western empire, as I 
have already stated, the doctrines of Christianity 
had been promulgated in Gaul, and had obtained many 
and powerful followers in each of the large cities. 
Nevertheless, over the face of the country in general, 
religious opinions were as various as the various 
nations who possessed the soil. The grand division 
was of course between the idolaters and the Chris- 
tians ; but even among the Christians themselves 
existed a vast and distressing schism, which neu- 
tralized the efforts of zeal, and wasted the powers 
which should have been applied solely to promote 
the great objects of Christianity, in profane contests, 
and most unchristian persecutions. 

It is not my purpose here to examine, even curso- 
rily, the tenets of Arius, or to trace the extension of 
his doctrine. Suffice it, that, though condemned by 
the ecumenical council of Nice, and attacked by 
the whole powers of the Roman church, the fol- 
lowers of the Arian heresy in Gaul were far superior 
in numbers, if not in zeal and talent, to those who 
adhered to the Nicene creed. The Goths, possess- 
ing the country from the Loire to the Pyrenees, and 
the Burgundians, on the other side of the Rhone, 
were almost universally Arians, while the rest of 
the population of France was divided between Ca- 
tholics of the Roman church, the remains of the 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 25 

ancient tribes of heathen Gaul, and the various na- 
tions of idolatrous Franks, who were now rapidly 
extending their dominions in the northern and east- 
ern parts of Flanders. 

In the choice between those who differed with 
them on certain doctrinal points, and those who re- 
jected their religion altogether, the followers of the 
council of Nice, of course, hesitated not a moment. 
The universal weakness of human nature on such 
subjects made them look with an infinitely more 
favourable eye upon heathens than they did upon 
heretics ; and consequently the progress of the 
Franks was hailed with gladness by all the Catholic 
clergy of Gaul. Cabals and intrigues of every kind 
were carried on to facilitate their conquests ; and 
their coming was anticipated with joy, even in the 
very dominions of the Goths.* 

As it is to be my task, henceforward, to trace the 
course of the Franks, I must be permitted for a mo- 
ment to look back upon their prior history as far as 
I find it clear and uninvolved, without, however, 
entering upon any of those long and laborious dis- 
cussions concerning the origin of nations, which 
rarely do aught but exercise the writer's imagina- 
tion, without proving either pleasing or instructive to 
the reader. 

The nation of the Franks was evidently composed 
of many distinct tribes, and originally inhabited 
some district of Germany, probably not far from the 
Rhine. Their first settlements in Gaul took place 
during the military government of the Emperor 
Julian ;f but in that age they presented themselves 
on the Roman territory, not so much as conquerors 
or aggressors, as refugees, driven from their native 
land by a more powerful tribe. J 

* Greg. Tur. lib. ii. 

t Tnen only Cesar. Ammian. Marcelin. lib. 17. 

\ These facts are so clearly established by Ducange, in his seven- 
teenth dissertaiion, that I have admitted them with confidence, though 
somewhat different from the vague but sonorous aocount of Gibbon. 

c 



26 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

The vigorous mind of Julian was at that time oc- 
cupied in endeavouring - , by every earthly means, to 
uphold the vast but decaying fabric of the Roman 
empire, to restore to it its pristine lustre, and to 
renew its ancient force. The advantages of min- 
gling with the corrupted legionaries of Rome fresh 
troops, whose savage strength and wild courage had 
not yet been in the least degree affected by the en- 
feebling power of luxury, did not escape him ; and 
he permitted the tribe of Franks who had been com- 
pelled to seek refuge in the Roman territory, to settle 
quietly in Brabant. More prudent, however, than 
his successors, he took care that the barbarians 
whom he admitted should be too few in number to 
prove dangerous ; and thus, though he received that 
tribe called the Salii,* who had been driven across 
the Rhine by their enemies — though he attacked and 
slaughtered the Quadi, who pursued them — though 
he assigned the emigrants lands, and granted them 
every hospitable privilege,! — he drove back the Cha- 
mavi, another tribe of the same nation, who fol- 
lowed, expelled the rest of the savage hordes who 
had already passed the Rhine, and closed the bound- 
aries of the Roman empire against any further influx 
of barbarians. 

After this period, we continually find the Salii serv- 
ing in the Roman infantry, and remarkable for their 
activity as foot soldiers. J Every thing, indeed, leads 
us to suppose, that as long as the empire existed, 
they were distinguished by the Romans from the 
other tribes of Franks,^ with whom the imperial 
generals waged a continual and devastating warfare 
on the confines of Gaul and Germany. It is certain, 
also, that on their settlement at Tessander Lo, in 
Brabant, the tribe of the Salii were assigned certain 
districts; and, as we afterward find them fighting 

* Liban. Orat in Mort. Julian, Ducange Dissert, xvii. 

t Julian, Epist. 

t Sidonius Carmin. $ Greg. Tur. lib. ii 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 27 

conspicuously among the forces of the empire, it 
is more than probable that these lands were granted 
on the condition of military service, — by no means 
an uncommon practice among the Romans. Called 
upon himself to bring a certain number of men 
into the field, the Duke, as he is named, or chief of 
the Salii,* to whom the territory was granted, of 
course portioned it out among his followers on the 
same condition; and the proprietor of every estate 
thus acquired was obliged to appear in arms at the 
call of his leader. f Women, not being able to fulfil 
the warlike duties of such a tenure, were cut off 
from possession of the soil in the country of the 
Salii ; and hence, probably, the motive and the origin 
of that part of the Salique law which declares that, 
on Salique ground, no part of the land can descend 
in heritage to a woman, — a law which, though appa- 
rently unjust, was only the natural consequence of 
the terms on which the territories were originally 
granted. 

For many years this law, now confined in its ap- 
plication to royal successions, was extended nomi- 
nally to all noble feoffs. Its rigour, however, was 
moderated ; and on the occasion of lands falling by 
inheritance to a woman, the heiress was obliged to 
marry, at the will of her feudal lord, such a person as 
could fulfil the duties of her feoff. In the case of mi- 
nors, the spirit also of the law was adhered to, and the 
guardian was required to serve in place of his ward, 
becoming, at the same time, absolute lord of the es- 
tate till such a period as the heir was able to accom- 
plish its feudal duties in person. These modifica- 
tions did not take place for many centuries after the 
period of which I speak; and it seems certain, that 
the strict terms of the Salique law, though then but 
a traditionary custom, were enforced in all the lands 
either originally granted to the Franks by the mere 

* Greg.. 'fur. apud Sulpic. Alexand. fDucange, Dissert. xviL 



28 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

bounty of the emperors, or afterward wrung- from 
the Romans as their power hurried onwards in its 
decline. 

By what accidental difference in national charac- 
ter, or what superior wisdom in their institutions, it 
is difficult to say, but it appears that, while the 
greater part of the invaders of the Roman empire 
contented themselves with hasty inroads, and tran- 
sitory conquests, the Franks, animated by a more 
regular and persevering spirit, pursued slowly, but 
steadily, that system of territorial aggrandizement 
which in the end rendered them masters of all Gaul. 
In the year 453, we find a large body of Franks as- 
sisting the consul iEtius against Attila, at the famous 
battle of Mauriacum,* or Mery sur Seine, in which 
that great Roman completely triumphed over the 
Huns. The Franks here, however, appeared no 
longer in the inferior station of foreign auxilia- 
ries, fighting under a Roman chief, f but as great and 
powerful allies, led by their own king; and we find 
that iEtius was obliged, though strong in his own 

* Other authorities give this battle the name of Chalons ; and though it 
is perfectly impossible to fix upon the precise spot which afforded a field 
for the contest of the Huns and Romans, it is more than probable that the 
final struggle took place between the Seine and the Marne, and between 
Chalons and Mery, which are about thirty miles apart. A previous con- 
flict had occurred between the Franks — who seem lo have formed the ad- 
vance guard of the Roman army — and the Gepida? of Attila, in which an 
incredible slaughter of barbarians is said to have taken place. This first 
battle appears to have occurred between the Loire and (he Seine, and 
probably the Gepida? made a stand to enable Attila, with his chief force, 
to pass the latter river; but all these events are most obscure, and proba- 
bly will ever remain so. Few of these vacuities which occur in the tract 
of history are more to be deplored than the want of authorities at this 
period. Sidonius, probably the only historian who could have done jus- 
tice to the subject, proposed atone time to write a detailed account of these 
wars, but he either never executed his design, or the manuscript has been 
lost. Gregory of Tours is confused ; Jornandes is more precise, but 
often incorrect ; and we are obliged to collect and assimilate scattered 
facts from the poetry Of Sidonius, and the doubtful lives of bishops and 
saints. 

tGreg. Tur. lib. ii. ; Jornandes; Sidonius. For various dissertations 
on this battle, see De Buat, Hist. Anciennedes Peuples de l'Europe, vol. 
vii. ; Dubos, Histoire Critique; and the Notes of the Benedictine editors 
of the French Historians. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 29 

genius and the attachment of the troops he com- 
manded, to have recourse to stratagem for the pur- 
pose of delivering himself from the presence of 
friends who might have become more dangerous 
than the enemies whom he had just defeated. 

Orderic Vital,* in his history of Normandy, is, I 
believe, the first who mentions a race of monarchs 
somewhat antecedent to the period of jEtius, and 
deduces them from Francus Duke of Sens, proceed- 
ing with Ferramond, or Pharramond, Clodius, Mero- 
veus, and Childeric: but nothing certain is to be 
learned concerning any of the chiefs or kings ex- 
cept the two last ; and it is much better to leave 
what is obscure in its original state of doubt, than, 
by recording what careless writers have invented on 
the subject, to perpetuate fables where truth cannot 
be obtained. 

We are too likely, in following even the written 
history of remote times, to be led into error by the 
follies and the prejudices of the historians, espe- 
cially if they themselves lived in ages of darkness and 
ignorance ; for where we have reason to complain 
once of the scantiness of the facts transmitted to us, 
we have cause a thousand times to regret the addi- 
tions that imagination has made to reality, and the 
distortion with which human weakness, passion, and 
superstition have represented events, that we have 
now no means of ascertaining. 

Of Childeric, however, we possess at least such 
knowledge as can be obtained from the writings of 
an author who lived scarcely a century and a half 
after his reign; and as upon his conquests was based 
all that vast extension of power gained by the Franks 
during the succeeding reign, it may not be amiss to 
pause an instant upon his history. 

Like most men of a very enterprising turn of 
mind, concerning whose lives we have an early 

♦Order. Vit. lib. i. 
C2 



30 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

record, he seems to have been animated by strong 
passions and vehement desires.* These, in the un- 
governed days of youth, led him into errors and de- 
baucheries, which, by irritating and disgusting even 
his barbarous subjects, caused his expulsion from 
the throne, and had very nearly cost him his life. 
He fled, however, for safety to the kingdom of Thu- 
ringia; and, foreseeing that, as anger subsided, as 
death laid his hand upon his enemies, and as time 
obliterated the first sharp memory of his faults, a 
period might come when his people would regret 
him, he divided a piece of gold with a faithful attend- 
ant whom he left behind, bidding him watch the 
changes of popular feeling during his absence, and 
when the Francs should desire his return, to send 
him as a sure token, the half of the broken coin. 

After his departure, iEgidius the Roman Master- 
general of Gaul, was elected by the Franks for their 
king ;f and reigned for eight years over them, during 
which time the western empire hurried rapidly on 
towards its fall. At length, from what cause it does 
not appear, whether from the oppression of iEgidius, 
or from the intrigues of Childeric, the Franks be- 
came discontented with the government which they 
had established, the half of the piece of gold was 
transmitted to the exiled monarch, the Roman was 
in his turn dethroned, and Childeric once more en- 
tered into peaceable possession of his kingdom. 

In the mean-while, iEgidius retired to Soissons, 
where he fixed the seat of his government, and ap- 
pears to have exercised an authority almost inde- 
pendent of Rome. But our accounts of Gaul in 
that day are so obscure, that it is impossible to dis- 
cover with precision how far any tie still existed 
between the imperial general and his declining 
country. Certain it is, that while, indignant at the 



*Greg. Tur. lib. ii. 

t Greg. Turon. lib. ii. From A. D. 457 to A. D. 465. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 31 

assassination of Majorian, iEgidius resisted the 
tyrannical authority of Ricimer, the barbarian who 
then commanded Italy, he acknowledged his own 
dependence on his country, and only rejected the 
fetters by which it was enthralled. But the precise 
degree of connexion which still remained between 
Rome and Gaul, and in whose name, or in what 
manner the master-general continued to govern the 
Gallic province, will probably ever be hidden from 
research. Nor is it more possible to ascertain, 
what part Childeric played in the various struggles 
which took place between the Romans of Gaul and 
the various barbarian tribes which surrounded them. 
Sometimes we find him joined with their friends, 
sometimes with their enemies, but always fighting 
on the victorious side, establishing his power and 
increasing his dominions. 

The tribes of Franks who now possessed apart of 
Gaul were no longer confined to the Salii. Fresh 
bodies had poured in from Germany as the Roman 
power declined; and, though maintaining a strict 
alliance with each other, they seem to have been 
governed by different monarchs, till after the reign 
of Childeric, who was probably King of the Sicam- 
bri.* Each tribe must necessarily have been but 
scanty in numbers, and the domains apportioned 
to each but small; for we find the chief town of 
Childeric to have been Tournay,f while Cambray, 
Cologne, and Terouane had distinct hordes and 
chiefs ; and it is probable that many others may 
have escaped my notice. 

No one of these tribes, however, could have sup- 
plied a sufficient body of men to have aided the Ro- 

* Notwithstanding; several reasons which exist for believing Clovis, 
the son of Childeric," to have been chief ofthe Salii, yet the address of St. 
Remigius to the Frankish monarch, " Bow thy head, Sicamber," can 
scarcely be explained by any other suppos tion, than, that of his having 
originally belonged to that tribe.— Flodoard, cap. xiii. 

fGreg. Tur. lib. ii. 



32 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

mans in so signal a manner at the battle of Mauri- 
acum, or to have gained such victories as we find 
recorded, over large bodies of Goths, Huns, and 
Saxons ; and thence I would deduce that some gen- 
eral principle of union existed between them ; and 
that the command over the whole was deferred to 
the king of one particular branch : which branch — as 
well from Meroveus having commanded on the vic- 
tory over Attila, as from the continual mention of 
Childeric, without any notice of the other Frankish 
kings — I should certainly conclude to have been, by 
accident, if not by custom, the tribe of Sicambri. 

Misfortune does not always teach wisdom ; but in 
the case of Childeric, either adversity or years ap- 
pear to have cured his follies ; and from the time of 
his reinstatement, he seems to have turned the cur- 
rent of a quick and impetuous spirit to the purposes 
of ambition, if not of virtue. In Childeric we find 
the real architect of the power of the Franks in 
Gaul ; and though it was another who united all the 
separated parts into the one great fabric of the 
French kingdom, he led the way and laid the founda- 
tion-stone. 

After a reign of twenty-four years, Childeric died 
at Tournay. His rival, JEgiddus, had preceded him 
to the tomb several years, leaving a son, named 
Syagrius, to occupy the anomalous post which by his 
death became vacant, — a substitute without a prin- 
cipal — a viceroy deputed by no king. Gregory of 
Tours, indeed, calls this Syagrius King of the 
Romans ; and as the good bishop is himself very 
curious in the investigation of what titles were 
bestowed upon the first chiefs of the Franks, it is 
more than probable that, in this instance, he made 
use of an honorary epithet that the Roman himself 
had assumed, when the western empire was abso- 
lutely at an end. 

Childeric also left a son to succeed to his power ; 
but, before proceeding with the following reign, 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 33 

which saw the conversion of the Franks to Chris- 
tianity, and produced many changes in their national 
customs, it may be as well to state, in as few words 
as possible, all that is known of their religion and 
manners at the period of which I write. 

Idolaters, like ail the rest of the northern nations, 
the worship of the Franks was of that simple class 
which first presents itself to the mind of man, when 
finding, by the sense of his own feebleness and 
dependance, the necessity of adoring some object, 
he sees the Godhead in every thing that contributes 
to his comfort, or supports his existence, mistaking 
the gifts which maintain life and happiness for the 
power that bestows. The forests that gave them 
shelter — the waters that fertilized their land — the 
savage beasts, the object of their chase — together 
with the more glorious parts of the wonderful crea- 
tion, the sun, the moon, and the stars, — were all 
subjects for their worship,* and the prototypes of 
their idols. Of their forms of adoration and reli- 
gious ceremonies we know little, except that they 
offered sacrifices. Various of the customs of the 
Druids and the ancient Gauls have been attributed to 
them also ; but whether correctly or not, I do not 
know, as I have personally met with the assertion 
alone, in the works of authors who wrote long after 
the manners of the Franks had become little more 
than matter for conjecture. 

In regard to the degree of perfection to which 
they had brought various arts and manufactures, we 
have reason to believe that the Franks themselves, 
previous to their establishment in Gaul, had not pro- 
ceeded farther in this branch of civilization than in 
any other. That, with all the tribes of the north, 
they were skilful and ardent huntsmen, cannot be 
doubted ; and in the Salique lawf we find the pro- 
tection of the chase as strictly attended to as the 

, * Greg. Tur. f Cap. xxxv. 



34 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

descent of lands, or any other case in which man is 
brought in relationship with man. They had also, 
it appears, made great progress, at an early period, 
in the domestication of all those useful animals 
whose subjection by any nation is generally consid- 
ered as marking a considerable advance in civiliza- 
tion. The horse was in common use among them, 
and that no small trouble and skill was expended in 
rearing dogs for the field, we learn from the fact, that 
the penalty decreed, by the above-cited law, against 
any person stealing a dog which had been trained, 
was infinitely higher than that attached to the theft 
under other circumstances. 

Stags, also, were domesticated among them, and 
were specially named in the laws for the protection 
of property. It is probable that, in regard to the 
other useful sciences, the most prominent inventions 
which the Romans had introduced into Gaul were 
eagerly adopted by the nations that followed them, 
though their refinements and more elegant arts were 
lost ; and thus we find, that the Franks, — who, in all 
likelihood, had not proceeded farther themselves than 
the application of the hand-mill for grinding their 
corn, or, at farthest, the mill turned by some animal 
of draught, — immediately upon their conquest of the 
Gallic territory multiplied regulations for the preser- 
vation of the water-mills with which the country 
was plentifully supplied. Nevertheless, it may be 
necessary to remark, that, even previous to their 
having crossed the Rhine, they had advanced so won- 
derfully in agriculture, that Claudian* declares it was 
not possible to distinguish, by the aspect of the land, 
which was the Roman, which the barbarian bank of 
that river.f The only circumstance which could 
lead us to suppose that, at a period previous to the 

* He makes use of the curious expression, — 

flexosque Sicambri, 

In falcem curvent gladios. 
t Claudian, de laud. Stilic.lib. i. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 35 

fall of the Roman empire, the Franks had made any- 
considerable progress in other arts, was the discov- 
ery of a tomb at Tournay, in the year 1653, which 
various circumstances indicated as the burial-place 
of Childeric, of whose history we have given a slight 
sketch. Besides a quantity of the bones of horses 
— probably sacrificed on the death of the king — a 
great many ornaments of gold were found, together 
with various medals, a style, the figure of a bull's 
head, and several other things manufactured in gold, 
as well as a number of rings, on some of which 
appeared the effigy of Childeric, with the inscription, 
in Latin. Childericus Rex. The remains also of a 
tunic, a sword, and part of an axe were discovered, as 
well as some tablets, on which, I believe, no writing 
was to be traced. The most curious, however, of 
the objects contained in this tomb were a multitude 
of bees, wrought in gold, some with eyes, and some 
without, — a symbol of empire which Childeric 
had probably derived from the Romans. To the 
same source also is to be attributed that degree of 
progress in several manufactures which was exhib- 
ited in the various objects discovered.* 

It is not likely, however small was the portion of 
energy which remained with the Romans of Gaul, 
that JEgidius should have reigned as king for nearly 
eight years over the Franks, without endeavouring 
to communicate to them, — if but in ostentation, — the 
arts and inventions of his native country ; nor is it 
more probable that the Franks should remain, for 
many generations, in near alliance and continual 
contact with a polished nation like the Romans, 
without acquiring some knowledge of their more 

* Not having seen these objects, it is not in my power to form any 
judgment concerning the state of art which must have produced them. 
The Abbe Lenglet Dufresnoy, who mentions that they were then still 
preserved in the Bibliothequedu Rot, does not give any account of their 
perfection. From the discovery of the bees, however, no small progress 
in working metals may be inferred ; for the first efforts of art are, in 
general, confined to subjects not so purely superfluous. 



36 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

necessary manufactures; though their mental im- 
provements they neglected, and their refined arts 
they despised. Thus, it would seem that when the 
Franks first came in contact with the Romans, they 
were mere barbarians, living by the chase, dwelling 
in huts, and governed by a military chief; but, gradu- 
ally, the proximity of luxurious civilization, the ser- 
vice of some of their tribes in the Roman armies, the 
alliances, and even the wars, of some others with 
the empire, changed their manners and improved 
their arts. They grew dwellers in cities, their kings 
became hereditary,* customs were fixed into laws, 
and, without losing their warlike and enterprising 
spirit, they received all such of the Roman inven- 
tions and manufactures as were consistent with the 
character of a young, conquering, and yet unsettled 
people. 

Such was the state of the Frankish nation at the 
death of Childeric, in the year 481. To him suc- 
ceeded his son Clovis, at the age of fifteen, endowed 
with all those qualities of mind and body necessary 
to the leader of a warlike nation, in a barbarous age, 
— strong, bold, hardy, determined, with an ambi- 
tious spirit calculated to rise in times of change and 
conquest, and at that precise period of life when the 
fire of enterprise burns most brightly in the human 
breast. 

Chief of a tribe of Franks probably superior to the 
others in power, and distinguished by its monarchs 
having led the whole confederacy with success for 
many years, Clovis was further assured of support 
from his fellow-kings — at least inasmuch as the ties 
of kindred could assure it among barbarians — from 
the circumstance of each of the other chiefs being 
related to himself in a nearer or more remote de- 
gree. The first five years of his reign he seems to 
have spent in tranquillity, consolidating his power, 

* I mean by custom albne, not by law. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 37 

habituating himself to dominion, and strengthening 
and securing his own possessions before he attacked 
those of others. At the end of that period his active 
life commenced, and he prepared for the series of 
conquests which rendered him the master of the 
whole of Gaul. 

Whether hereditary enmity prompted him, or the 
more politic consideration of destroying at once a 
foreign power in the heart of dominions which, be- 
yond all doubt, he designed, frcm a very early period, 
to annex to his own, we have no means of ascertain- 
ing ; but the first aggression of the young monarch 
of the Franks was directed against Syagrius and the 
Romans. 

That he originally contemplated the conquest of 
the whole of Gaul is not at all what I wish to ad- 
vance ; for with him, as well as with every other 
man, it is probable that his views extended with the 
extension of his power, and that those things which 
at first were too vast for even ambition to grasp, 
soon appeared to court his endeavours, as victory 
took one great step after the other on the road to 
general dominion. Nevertheless, that the spirit and 
intention of conquest was in his heart, there can be 
no doubt ; and even if he proposed to bound his acqui- 
sition of territory to the banks of the Meuse, the 
Seine, and the shores of the ocean, the remnant of 
the Roman power was the first obstacle that in policy 
he was bound to overcome. 

Aided, then, by the principal tribes of Franks, he 
marched directly upon Soissons.* Syagrius was 
prepared to meet him ; but, after a severe conflict, 
the Romans were routed, and their unhappy leader, 
flying from the field of battle, took refuge with Ala- 
ric, king of the Visigoths. Daring in his own na- 
ture, and elated with his victory, Clovis instantly 
sent messengers to the Gothic king, demanding that 

* A. D. 486. 

D 



38 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

Syagrius should b,e given up to him, and boldly 
threatening war in case of refusal. 

Alaric had lately succeeded Euric or Evaric in the 
kingdom of the Goths ;* and, on what motive it is 
hard to say, he stained the first years of his reign by 
violating a]l the duties of hospitality in regard to 
the unhappy Roman, and by yielding him to the de- 
mand of his barbarous enemy. 

His after-life showed that Alaric neither wanted 
courage, nor firmness, nor activity ; and yet, by one 
of those strange contradictions which are sometimes 
found in the human character, he began his career 
with au action which can be accounted for on no 
other principle than the basest timidity. 

With Syagrius in his hands, Clovis soon made 
himself master of all that remained of the Roman 
possessions in Gaul ; and then, with the same bar- 
barous spirit which he evinced in many an after-cir- 
cumstance, he caused his captive to be butchered in 
prison. Such an action, however, was quite in har- 
mony with the feelings of the age ; and the often- 
repeated anecdote of the silver vase, the circum- 
stances of which occurred at this period, is chiefly 
valuable as a proof of the uncivilized state of the 
Franks even then; showing how little, except in 
number, their armies still differed from a horde of 
plundering savages. The facts, as related by Flo- 
doard and Gregory of Tours,f are as follows : The 
cities of the Romans which fell into the hands of 
the Franks after the death of Syagrius were all 
more or less subjected to pillage ; and even if Clo- 
vis, from political motives, extended a share of pro- 
tection to the great body of his new subjects, he 
does not seem in any degree to have respected the 
Christian churches, which were stripped of all the 
rich plate and ornaments that had decorated them 
under the imperial government. The sacred build- 

* Greg. Tur. . f Flodoardus ; Greg. Tor., 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 39 

ings of Rheims, one of the first cities that had em- 
braced Christianity in Gaul, were not exempt ; and, 
among other articles of value carried off was a sil- 
ver vase, of immense size and exceedingly curious 
workmanship. 

At that time, the fame of St. Remi, the most elo- 
quent and talented* churchman of the day, was 
spreading far and near through Gaul ; and even the 
idolatrous monarch of the Franks either felt or 
affected no small veneration for the virtues of the 
Christian prelate. As bishop of Rheims, St. Remi, 
either from some particular idea of sanctity attached 
to that vase, or from its great value, sent messen- 
gers to Clovis to complain of the violence which 
had been committed,! and to beg the restitution of 
that particular urn at least, which he described. 
" Follow me to Soissons," replied the king to the 
messengers ; " there the booty is to be divided, and, 
if it be in my power, the prelate's;}; desire shall be 
gratified."^ 

On their arrival at Soissons, the troops were 
assembled ; and the whole mass of plunder being 
displayed before the army, the king, pointing to the 
urn, which lay conspicuous on the glittering heap, 
turned to the soldiers whom he had led so often to 
battle and to victory, and, before proceeding to deter- 
mine by lot, as was customary, the part which each 
man was to have in the spoil, he begged that the vase 
might be assigned to him. 

Many of the soldiers instantly expressed their 
consent ; but one, either jealous of the invasion of 
established customs, or coveting the splendid prize 

* Sidonius, Appol. t Flodoard. 

t Gregory of Tours makes use of the word pope, "papa," where I 
have substituted prelate ; but it is to be remarked, that, till a much later 
period, the title of pope was very generally applied to all bishops. It is 
on the authority of Flodoard, in his History of Ike Church of Rheims, 
that I have made St. Remi the petitioner in this anecdote. Gregory of 
Tours neither names the church from which the vase was taken, nor the 
prelate who required it at the hands of Clovis. 

$ Greg. Tur. lib. ii 



40 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

himself, raised his axe, and, dashing it down upon the 
vase, exclaimed, in answer to the king's demand, 
" Thou shalt have nothing here but that which for- 
tune shall give to thee by lot."* 

For a moment all were dumb with astonishment ; 
but at length, the general voice having assigned the 
vase to Clovis, he returned it to the messengers of 
the bishop, in the state that the axe had left it. 

The passions that swelled in the heart of a barba- 
rous monarch at such an outrage as had been offered 
to him on this occasion may be easily conceived. 
He smothered them, however, for a time, although 
both his power and his popularity might have 
supported him had he given way to his resentment 
and possibly in this very instance of the strong 
command he possessed over himself is to be traced 
the source of that great influence he acquired over 
others. 

It must not be thought that his anger was forgotten, 
though it slept ; and, after lying dormant for a whole 
year, it suddenly awoke, the instant that a pretence 
of justice was afforded to his wrath, by the miscon- 
duct of him who had been so severely exact in his 
allowance to the king. At the general assembly pf 
the people, called the Champ de Mars, when, by old 
custom, all the warriors of the nation presented 
themselves before the monarch, to show that their 
arms and equipments were kept bright and in good 
condition, the young soldier who had struck the vase 
appeared, with evident signs of negligence in the 
state of his weapons. The king paused before him 
with a frowning brow, remarked the slothful careless- 
ness evinced in his rusted arms ; and catching his 
battle-axe from his hand, cast it down upon the 
ground disdainfully, exclaiming, " None show them- 
selves here with such ill-ordered arms as thine. Thy 

* Flodoard, cap. xiii, 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 41 

lance, thy sword, thy battle-axe, are all disgraceful 
to a soldier." 

The young* man stooped in silence to pick up his 
axe, but, as he did so, Clovis, with a blow of his 
weapon (called a francisque), smote him to the 
ground never to rise again, crying, " So didst thou 
strike the vase at Soissons !" The true motive of 
the blow spoke out in the words that accompanied it ; 
but, as he had refrained when the offence was given, 
and retaliated not till justice was joined with ven- 
geance, his followers admired rather than murmured, 
and saw nothing in their barbarous leader but a 
chief who knew equally well when to bear and when 
to punish. A modern people would have looked 
deeper ; but the separation of motives from actions 
is the art of a much more refined nation than that of 
which I write. 

Pursuing steadily his ambitious purposes, Clovis 
went on from conquest to conquest. At first, the 
dominions which he had won from the Romans 
seemed to have bounded his designs towards the 
south ; and we find the scene of all his wars, for the 
first fifteen years of his reign, in the northern and 
western parts of Gaul, on the banks of the Wahl and 
the Rhine. Even passing those rivers, he subdued 
part of the country beyond ; and, in the midst of such 
continual struggles for increase of territory, his 
marriage took place with Clotilda, niece of Gondi- 
bert King of Burgundy, a circumstance which 
affected his fortunes more than any of his victories 
Not that Clotilda brought him any fresh possessions 
for she seems to have had no dower but her beauty 
and her virtue. She was a Christian, however ; and, 
with the zeal of love and conviction, she endeavoured 
incessantly to inspire her own faith into the bosom 
of her husband. For long the monarch resisted all 
her entreaties, and there were indeed many obstacles 

* Flodoard. ; Greg. Tur. 

D2 



42 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

to his conversion. The people he commanded were 
fervent idolaters, and it might be dangerous and 
difficult to stand among them alone in a new reli- 
gion. Under his nation's gods, he had fought and 
conquered ; and we must not, in our own imagina- 
tions, endow Clovis with a spirit so much superior 
to his age, as not to be affected by superstitions then 
common to all men of all creeds. 

The very manner of his conversion was super- 
stitious, and, if I may make use of the term, heathen. 
After resisting for years the solicitations of Clotilda, 
the monarch, on seeing his army giving way in every 
direction before the Germans at the battle of Tolbaic, 
— now Zulpich, near Cologne, — suddenly addressed 
a prayer to his wife's God, vowing to abandon all 
other gods, if he would yield him the victory. 

As he spoke the Franks rallied, — the Germans 
were defeated ; and Clovis, beholding a miracle in 
his rapid change of fortune, determined to adhere to 
the vow he had made in the time of danger. On 
considering this event, I was inclined at first to 
suppose, that Clovis, perceiving the great influence 
of the Catholic clergy, and how much they might 
aid him in the schemes of Conquest that he medi- 
tated, had embraced their faith upon political motives ; 
and that the superstitious historians of the day had 
decorated his conversion with a miracle. This 
hypothesis, though specious, and yielded, I own, 
with reluctance, will not bear closer observation ; 
for if we take care to avoid the common error of 
looking at events characterized by the spirit of a 
different age through the medium of modern feelings 
and manners, we shall find that, unless we attribute 
to Clovis extended views and schemes of policy far 
beyond any recorded of those times, the motives for 
his conversion to the Christian faith must remain as 
they are stated by the historians, — the solicitations 
of his wife, acting upon superstitious feelings com- 
mon to the age, and enforced by an extraordinary 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 43 

coincidence, at a moment of danger and excite- 
ment. 

Nevertheless, the act of embracing the Christian 
religion at a time when his whole people were 
heathens, — when all the independent tribes of his 
own nation, and the kings that governed them, were 
in the daily habit of destroying the temples and per- 
secuting the ministers of that doctrine which he was 
about to receive, — was a bold and a great measure ; 
and, joined with the success that accompanied it, 
showed a mind, however uncivilized, powerful in 
itself, and confident in its own powers. 

It was not* without some examination that Clovis 
professed the faith, nor without precaution in regard 
to his people. After having listened attentively to 
the eloquent predication of St. Remi, he declared 
himself satisfied, and ready to receive baptism ; but, 
at the same time, he assembled his army, and com- 
municated to them his design. 

It is more than probable that the troops were 
already aware of the intentions of the king, and that 
means had been used to induce them to follow his 
example, for three thousand of the most illustriousf 
persons of his army instantly avowed their willing- 
ness to abandon the idols of their forefathers, and 
to embrace the doctrine of salvation. 

This number was sufficient, though the greater part 
of the army still remained obstinately heathens. 
The first stone was laid — the conversion of his people 
begun — and Clovis trusted for the rest to time, and 
his own powers of mind. 

Easter being near when this occurrence took 
place, that festival was appointed for the ceremony 
of baptizing the newly converted monarch and his 
followers ; and a strange and interesting sight it must 
have been, to see the splendid barbarians, who con- 
quered, not only the Romans, but the conquerors of 

* Flodoard, cap. xiii ; Greg. Tur. lib. ii. 

t Orderic. Vital, lib. i ; Greg Tur. ; Flodoard. 



44 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

Rome, present themselves at the altar of God, to 
solicit pardon in the name of the divine teacher of 
peace and good-will. 

The account of the baptism of Clovis, as given by 
Flodoard, and confirmed by the still earlier account 
of Gregory of Tours, is curious in various points of 
view. In the first place, it shows the high pitch of 
power, of boldness, and of wealth to which the 
Church of Rome had, even then, arrived ; and it puts 
in strong contrast therewith the barbarous simplicity 
of the Frankish king. 

On the morning appointed for the ceremony, we 
read, that " The streets, from the dwelling of the 
monarch to the cathedral, were decorated, and hung 
with fine linen and rich carpets ; tapestry and white 
vails were suspended from the portals of the church ; 
a thousand perfumed tapers filled the temple with 
both odour and light ; and the people, in an atmo- 
sphere of balm, imagined that they breathed already 
the air of Paradise." At the hour determined, the 
procession set out from the palace, commenced by 
the clergy, bearing in pomp the holy evangelists, with 
banners and crosses, and singing the hymns and can- 
ticles of the church. Next appeared St. Remi, 
leading the royal convert by the hand, accompanied 
by the queen and the monarch's sister, with an 
immense multitude of the most distinguished Franks, 
eager to follow the example of their chief. 

As they proceeded onwards towards the cathedral, 
Clovis, struck with the splendid ceremonial of the 
Roman church, which had been displayed in all its 
full magnificence to honour his baptism, turned to 
the prelate, and betrayed the state of his religious 
knowledge by asking, if what he saw were the king- 
dom of God which had been promised to him. " No," 
replied St. Remi ; " it is but the beginning of the 
road which conducts thither." The king then 
entered the church, and approached the baptismal 
font, when the bishop, with a burst of that impas- 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 45 

sioned eloquence for which he was celebrated, 
exclaimed, with a loud voice, — "Bend thy head 
humbly, Sicamber, before thy God ! Destroy that 
which thou hast adored ! Adore that which thou 
hast destroyed !" After this bold address, he took 
the monarch's profession of faith, gave him baptism, 
and received him into the Christian church,* baptiz- 
ing at the same time the warriors who followed the 
king to the font, as well as an immense number of 
women and children. 

His conversion to the Christian religion had, as I 
have already said, an immense influence upon the 
fate of Clovis. The clergy of the Roman church, 
thickly spread over every part of Gaul, without 
excepting' the dominions of Aquitaine and Burgundy, 
had already courted the Franks, even when governed 
by a heathen monarch ; but now that he professed 
the same faith with themselves, they spared neither 
exertions nor intrigues to facilitate the progress of 
his conquests. 

It does not enter into the plan of this Introduction, 
which necessarily must be as brief as is consistent 
with perspicuity, to follow the reign even of the 
founder of the French monarchy through all its cir- 
cumstances; suffice it, that in a short time the event 
of several wars left the Franks masters of the whole 
of that part of Gaul situated within the Rhone, the 
Rhine, the ocean, and the Loire. 

In Burgundy their warfare had been successful, 
but not advantageous. They had gained battles, but 
acquired no territory ; and though their policy had 
been conducted with much barbarous art, it bad 
proved as fruitless as their victories. Clovis then 
turned hisdesigns against Aquitaine, and, after several 
years of preparation befitting so great an enterprise 
as the conquest of that vast tract of country lying 
between the Loire and Pyrenees, he put himself at 

* Flodoard. ; Greg. Tur. 



46 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

the head of his army, and marched directly towards 
Poictiers.* In the neighbourhood of that city, 
Alaric, King of the Visigoths, who had collected an 
immense army in Spain, and crossed the Pyrenees 
with as hostile intentions towards Clovis as those 
which Clovis entertained towards him, had paused 
in his advance, to wait the arrival of Theodoric the 
Great, and the Goths of Italy. 

With such a powerful ally, joined to his own over- 
whelming forces, it is probable that Alaric doubted 
as little of success as the monarch of the Franks. 
The stake for which they played was great, — no 
less than the empire of the whole of Gaul. Each 
had much to lose, and each had much to win ; and 
each cast his whole power upon the chance. 

But though the troops of the Franks are said to 
have been inferior in number, they possessed, in 
•other respects, great advantages over the Goths. A 
long series of wars, with scarcely an interval of 
peace, had rendered them firm, hardy, and skilful ; 
and a long series of victories, without a check, had 
given them confidence in themselves, and in their 
leader. 

If we are to believe the Catholic historians, no 
miracles were wanting that might encourage Clovis 
on his march, But having purposely abstained 
hitherto from citing any of the puerile superstitions 
with which the clergy of that day either deceived 
themselves or others, I shall not pause to do so on 
the present occasion. It is nevertheless difficult 
to abstain from saying something on the subject, 
when these pretended miracles, however distinct in 
object and in nature from the great and glorious 
manifestations of power that accompanied the di- 
vine Author of our religion, or even from those 
which vouched the inspiration of the prophets of 

* I have found it perfectly impossible to discover with which of the 
two monarchs the design of invasion and conquest originated. The 
character of Clovis, however, leads me to attribute it to him. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 47 

old, have been too often confounded therewith by 
the weak, the malicious, and the vain of latter days, 
for the purpose of sneering at the one while they 
ridiculed the other. 

Alaric remained inactive, while Clovis advanced 
with rapidity; and thus the Goths lost and the Franks 
gained the great advantage of being the attacking 
party. The two armies met on the plains of Vou- 
gle,* within a few miles of Poictiers, and in a very 
short space of time the empire of Gaul was decided. 
The Goths gave way on every side ; and, though 
Alaric made the most immense exertions to conquer 
fortune, and win the great stake for which he strove, 
the route of his troops was soon complete. Both 
monarchs fought in person, like common soldiers ; 
and it is said that they met hand to hand in the 
battle, when Alaric fell beneath the sword of his 
rival. 

The death of their king rendered the confusion of 
the Goths irremediable. They fled from the field in 
every direction. The fallen monarch's son, with 
what forces he could collect, retired into Spain, 
where he succeeded to the throne of that country; 
while Clovis, with his victorious army, marched on 
through the territories which the Goths had pos- 
sessed in Gaul, and subjected the whole land to 
the sway of the Franks. The Pyrenees became 
now the southern boundary of Clovis's dominion, 
and the kingdom of France may be said to have 
begun. 

The Frankish king had yet rivals to subdue in the 
heart of his kingdom. I have already mentioned the 
various tribes of the nation which inhabited the north 
of France, and pointed out, that though they seemed, 
by prescription, to consider the chief of the Sicam- 
bri as the head of the confederate nation, yet each 
was governed by its own monarch, and probably by 

* See Note I. 



48 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

its own laws, of which we have instances in the 
Salique law, and the Loi ripuaire* 

It was not, however, to be supposed that an am- 
bitious warrior like Clovis, who had conquered all 
that opposed him, and extended his dominions in 
such an immense proportion, would leave the petty 
chieftains of his race — over whom he had risen so 
high by victory and genius — in tranquil possession 
of the territories which they held parcelled out 
through his kingdom. To seize upon their lands 
was an injustice ; but it was an injustice so common 
in the age, that it followed as a matter of course ; 
and the only choice seemed to be in the manner of 
performing it. Clovis, following the bent of his 
natural disposition, selected, in all instances, the 
most sure means of obtaining his object, without at 
all considering whether it was cruel, or whether it 
was base. 

*Each of the German nations, as they advanced and became fixed in 
any part of the ancient territories of Rome, introduced its own laws, and 
the Franks, who eventually rendered themselves masters of the whole 
of Gaul, of course brought their own codes along with them. These 
multifarious judicial systems naturally created great confusion, and 
might have been made dreadfully oppressive to the vanquished inhabit- 
ants of the country. But it is a singular fact, that such was the broad 
and general feeling of justice among the very barbarians whose sole 
right to legislate in those provinces was the right of unjust conquest, 
that they almost universally suffered the conquered people to be judged 
by their own laws. In the traces of legislation which each of the bar- 
barous nations has left behind it, we find the general principle more or 
less admitted, that the parties in any cause could claim their national 
code. There were, of course, various modifications ; and the exact mode 
of adapting the principle to particular cases does not seem to me to be 
clearly ascertained, notwithstanding the learned, laborious, and acute 
investigations of Savigny. It would appear, however, that in most civil 
causes, the defendant-had the right of choosing whether he would be 
judged by his own law, or by that of his rulers ; but in criminal cases, in 
general, the law of the injured person was followed. The church, with 
very few exceptions, claimed the Roman law. After the entire subju- 
gation of Gaul by the Franks, it appears, that though the party having 
the right of choice might make his election between his own national 
code and that of his conquerors, he could shelter himself under the laws 
of no other tribe. The subject, however, is very obscure. It may be 
found discussed at large, with talent, ingenuity, and research, in the 
translation of Savigny's History of the Roman Law in the Middle Ages, 
with the learned notes of Mr. Cathcart. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 49 

Sometimes he advanced to his purpose of over- 
throwing his kindred kings, with the boldest, some- 
times with the most artful, steps ; but the termina- 
tion was ever bloody and barbarous. In one in- 
stance he incited the son to murder the father, and 
then himself caused the assassination of the son.* 
In another, he stirred up the Leudes, or Companions 
of the King of Cambray against their sovereign ; and 
when, after an ineffectual struggle, the unhappy mon- 
arch was seized by his army and given up with his 
brother to their barbarous relation, Clovis slew 
them both with his own hand, saying they were a 
disgrace to his family for suffering themselves to be 
chained ; adding, that it was better to die than en- 
dure ignominy. Thus, having found means, by the 
slaughter of all his kindred, to annex their domin- 
ions to his own, the monarch of the French, who 
had begun life but the chieftain of a barbarous tribe, 
found himself, in the prime of his manhood, the 
sovereign of one of the richest and most extensive 
kingdoms of the world. What plans he would have 
formed to secure and improve his conquests, and to 
what uses he would have applied his power, had 
his life been extended to the usual period allotted to 
man, it is impossible to say. From the means he 
employed to acquire, however, it is probable that 
his measures of security would have been bloody 
and remorseless. But, at the same time, we may 
fairly presume that he would have used the immense 
authority he had so cruelly obtained, for the general 
good of his subjects and the benefit of his succes- 
sors, both from the instances of wisdom he evinced 
in the collection and publication of the Salique law, 
— certainly one of the best and most comprehensive 
of the barbarous codes, — and from the influence he 
exercised over the council of Orleans, which founded 
the liberties of the Gallic church. 

* In the caae of Sigebert, King of the Ripuarian Franks of Cologne. 

E 



50 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

That he was famous among even the people of 
his age, when rumour and fame had not, as in the 
present day, wings as rapid as the wind, may easily 
be judged from the fact of the Emperor Anastasius 
having bestowed on him consular honours, and sent 
him the purple. That he was great, his conquests 
and his acquisitions announce sufficiently. But that 
he was happy in his fame, or secure in his greatness, 
is more than doubtful. To the last day of his life, 
his mind seems to have been tormented with fears 
of rivalry ; and he is reported to have complained to 
his assembled people, after having destroyed all his 
kindred, that he remained, like a traveller among 
strangers, having no relation to succour him if ad- 
versity should arise. " Not that he was sorry for 
their death," says the Bishop of Tours, with em- 
phatic simplicity ; "he spoke thus only from cun- 
ning, that he might discover if he had any relations 
still living, to the end that he might kill them." I 
translate the words almost literally ; and they are 
those of one of his eulogists. 

Could such a man be happy 1 No. It was time 
for him to die ; and he expired at Paris in the forty- 
fifth year of his age, five years after the overthrow 
of Alaric. 

It unfortunately remains a fact, notwithstanding 
all that has been said on the subject, that a monarch 
who is by no means a good man may be a very good 
king. To be really great, he must be both. Clovis 
had many of the requisites for greatness ; but not 
the whole. His higher qualities and his brighter 
talents were those least to be expected from his 
situation. His vices were those of a barbarian. 
Cruel, cunning, remorseless ; he was the northern 
savage endowed with power. Clear-sighted, tem- 
perate, firm, — with grand purposes, extensive views,, 
and steadiness of execution, he was worthy of a 
better age. 

All laws are apparently susceptible of a division 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 51 

into two great classes. The first embraces those 
laws which — instituted to provide against cases 
that may or may not happen, or may be qualified 
by various accessory circumstances — must ever be 
more or less vague, undefined, and varying, accord- 
ing to the varying circumstances of society. The 
second is that class of laws by which certain events 
are regulated that must necessarily occur in the 
course of nature ; and which, consequently, may 
be provided against by clear and established rules, 
in every nation, according to its wants and situation. 

Of this last class are the laws respecting the suc- 
cession to kingdoms and inheritances; but, of course, 
it is not in the infancy of a nation that great preci- 
sion can be given to rules, even concerning inevi- 
table events ; and accordingly, we find, during the 
reign of the first race of French monarchs, very little 
regularity obtaining in respect to the transmission 
of the sceptre. Indeed, the only absolute law upon 
this point, acting invariably during their dynasty, 
seems to have been that article of the Salique code 
by which women are excluded from inheritance. 

At the death of Clovis, his four sons succeeded 
him, and parted among them that kingdom which 
it had been the business of his life to unite. It is 
not, however, my purpose to trace here the tedious 
series of the Merovingian kings. It is sufficient 
for my present object to mark three circumstances 
of interest in their history ; namely, the first appli- 
cation of the Salique law in the succession to the 
throne, — the first shadowy outline of a Court of 
Peers, — and the rise and progress of that im- 
mense power, which converted the maires of the 
palace into kings. 

It may not be unnecessary, however, to pause for 
one brief moment on the general state of the coun- 
try. The population, which covered the face of 
Gaul, was now more mixed and confused than ever; 
consisting, however, of two distinct bodies. One 



52 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

of these, the Franks, was indeed pure and separate 
from the allay of any foreign blood ; and, already pos- 
sessing all civil and military power, was gradually 
advancing to the appropriation of all lands and ter- 
ritorial privileges. The other consisted of a thou- 
sand different races, — the original Gauls forming a 
great proportion. With these were the descend- 
ants of the Romans, their conquerors ; the Leti,* and 
other nations to whom the Romans had apportioned 
various parts of the Gallic province ; several tribes 
of Goths, such as the Taifali,f who had submitted 
after the defeat of Alaric; Saxons, Huns, Germans; 
and, in short, portions of all the swarms of barbarians 
that had aided to dismember the falling empire of 
Rome. These, however, exclusive of the Armori- 
cans, constituted but one class, — the conquered; 
and for them the choice of but two sorts of fate was 
open, — the church or slavery.^ There were excep- 
tions, but exceptions prove nothing against a gene- 
ral rule. 

Even before their emigration from Germany, in 
common with the rest of the German tribes, each 
nation of Franks^ was distinguished by two grades, 
or classes, in their society. The common bulk of 
the nation formed the first; but from these were 
selected a number of persons, called by the name 
of leudes, or fideles. Probably, in the first in- 
stance, they were but the voluntary warriors who 
accompanied the chief of their tribe upon any of his 
warlike expeditions.! They grew into more im- 
portance, however, as the nation acquired territo- 
rial possessions ; tracts of land were assigned them, 
as the recompense for their services ; and an oath 
was exacted from them,^[ on their admission to the 

*Ammian. Mareelin. tOreg. Tur. 

J The conquerors claimed as an undeniable right two-thirds of the 
whole soil ; and frequently usurped the rest. 
$ Tacit, de mor. Ger. lib. xiii. 
|| Montesquieu, Esp. des Lois, 1. xxxiii. cap. 16. 
ft Marculfus, Formul. lib. i. form. 18.- 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 53 

order, which, accompanied as it was by various sol- 
emn ceremonies, would seem the origin of feudal 
investiture. 

Although persons were no longer elevated to the 
station of leudes by talents and courage alone, under 
the successors of Clovis the order still continued. 
It is very difficult to say, though we find them 
often mentioned in history, what were the duties, 
and what the privileges, of these leudes. Certain 
it is, that their prerogatives were not hereditary be- 
fore the year 695 ; and whatever services they, by 
their oath, promised to the monarch, it appears that 
he, in return, gave them especial protection. The 
Salique law calls them Homines qui sunt in truste re- 
gis ; and the formula of Marculfus mentions, that 
six hundred sous, then an immense sum, was the 
penalty for killing one of the anstrustions — a title 
I believe to have had the same signification with 
leudes * 

At all events, it is clear that we have here an order 
of nobility ; and it is little less clear that this order 
has proceeded gradually, with various changes, but 
without intermission, to the present day. I have 
said this much from a belief, that to trace institu- 
tions and to mark each step in the progress of so- 
ciety can never be uninteresting to the reader or 
the writer. On the same principle I shall also pause 
to remark, that during the reign of Clovis the arts and 
manufactures of the Romans became more familiar 
to the Franks. Their works in gold and silver we 
find carried to a very high pitch of perfection prior 
to the days of Charlemagne ;f and from the pro- 
gress of the surperfluous and ornamental arts we 

*See Guizot, Essais sur l'Histoire, <fec. No. 4. 

t Forlunat. ; Test. S. Remig. apud Flodoard. Until the reign of Da- 
gobert the arts continued to flourish, and tinder his government reached 
the highest pitch they were destined to attain under the Merovingian 
kings ; but at the death of that monarch they soon sunk under the con- 
stant struggles which succeeded, and were nearly extinguished before 
ithe accession of Charlemagne. 

E 2 



54 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

may always deduce a considerable advance in the 
more useful ones. In the luxuries and elegances of 
the table also they had made no small advance. 
Wine had been known in Gaul for ages, as well as 
beer. Hydromel, it is probable, was introduced by 
the Franks themselves.* Cider was made, and was 
judged worthy of forming part of a banquet offered 
by a king.f Table-cloths were used where the table 
was neither of such splendid materials as to be 
shown for the purposes of ostentation,^ nor covered 
with flowers. Napkins also were employed ; but it 
is probable that they were used merely for washing 
before and after the repast. Spoons of silver, cups 
of the precious metals, wrought richly and orna- 
mented with jewels, are mentioned within a few 
years of the reign of Clovis, as well as vinaigrettes, 
and several utensils with the use of which we are 
not now acquainted. 

It might be supposed that all these objects of lux- 
ury, the manufacture of which implies great progress 
in art, had formed part of the plunder which the bar- 
barous nations had taken from the Romans ; but by 
the will of St. Remi we find various articles of sil- 
ver stated to have been wrought at Laon ;§ and di- 
rections are also given therein for converting some 
large pieces of plate into lesser ones, with precise 
orders for the manner in which they were to be 
chased and engraved. From this we discover that 
such arts were still pursued under the government 
of the Franks ; and from the same document we 
have reason to infer that the weaving of many 
sorts of cloth, fringes, and tapestry, was also still 
carried to great perfection, though linens and silks 
were imported through Marseilles. || Notwithstand- 
ing these facts, much, infinitely much, had been lost 
by the fall of the Roman empire, and more was still 

* Olivier des Serres. f Vit. St. Colomb. J Fortunat. Carm. 
$ Flodoard. in test. S. Remigii, cap. xviii. 
;|j Mem. de l'Academie, torn, xxxvii. page 471. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 55 

to be lost ; for hitherto, of course, the tide of bar- 
barism had not so completely effaced the traces of 
Italian civilization as it did after having flowed on 
for many years. 

In the mean while language also naturally began 
to undergo a great change. The influx of so many 
northern nations, each bringing a dialect of its own, 
as may be well supposed, soon supplanted the Latin 
tongue, which the Romans — according to their wise 
policy of making their language and their institu- 
tions the chains wherewith they bound the nations 
they conquered — had rendered general in Gaul by 
the constant habit of more than four centuries. The 
lower class of people could not be expected to speak 
the tongue of the Romans in its purity ; and the Latin 
generally used in Gaul at the fall of the empire, was 
necessarily adulterated with a great intermixture of 
Celtic terms. The Gothic, the Saxon, and the Van- 
dal jargons added each something to corrupt it ais 
they passed. Then came the Franks, who, re- 
taining the country they had conquered, gave more 
expressions than any other tribe to the dialect 
of the people, though the great men, and the court 
of their own nation, still affected to speak the 
tongue of their German fathers. Thus, the langue 
rustique, or Rojnane, became, after several centuries, 
the general medium of communication among the 
people ; while the Latin, in any degree of purity, 
was only found among the ecclesiastics ; and the 
Franc teutch, or Theotisque, still remained the lan- 
guage of the monarch and his court, which distinc- 
tion continued long after the reign of Charlemagne 
himself.* 

To return, however, to the successors of Clovis. 
After the death of that monarch all the disorders 
and miseries of a divided empire succeeded. Brother 
warred with brother ; and whatever alliances they 

"*NUhard. lib. ii. 



56 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

formed for the purpose of turning their arms against 
some external enemy, generally ended in producing 
treachery or disunion among themselves, on account 
of the plunder taken, or the dominion acquired. At 
length two out of four of the Frankish monarchs 
died, and their male descendants being extinct, the 
kingdom remained divided between Childebert and 
Clotaire, the third and fourth sons of Clovis. No 
greater union, however, reigned between them now 
than while the kingdom had been separated into a 
greater number of parts ; and eternal quarrels and 
intrigues continued till the death of Childebert, who, 
leaving but two daughters, Clotaire, his brother, in 
exercise of the Salique law, took possession of his 
whole dominions. 

Whether that the law itself was new, and yet un- 
sanctioned by that long custom and common appli- 
cation which renders law indisputable, or whether 
it was that in seizing the treasures of Childebert, 
as well as his dominions, Clotaire committed an 
action unwarranted by the code which assigned him 
the land, it is difficult to say : but, evidently from the 
apprehension of his right being in some way con- 
tested, the new monarch of France banished the 
widow and daughters of his brother immediately 
after that prince's death. It is probable, however, 
that the law was decisive as to the succession, or, 
instead of banishing his nieces, he would, in all like- 
lihood, have followed the common practice of the 
day, and ended the dispute by murdering them. 

After the death of Clotaire ensued a new division 
of the kingdom, new wars, new intrigues, new as- 
sassinations, offering a picture of anarchy, blood, 
and horror, more dreadful, perhaps, than any in the 
range of time. If it be possible to add a deeper 
shade to a scene of crime where unbridled passions 
of every kind carried human nature to the extreme 
of blood-guiltiness, it will be found in the fact, that 
the principal instigators and actors in all the massa- 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 57 

cres of this period, belonged to that sex which, by 
frame weak, and by nature gentle, seems formed as 
much to calm man's violence as to sooth his sorrow. 

But neither Fredigonde nor Brunehault,* — the one 
stained with the blood of her husband and her hus- 
band's children, and the other, who died with the 
murder of five successive kings upon her head, — 
neither surely deserved the name of woman. I 
will not pause, however, on such scenes of horror, 
but, passing over the reigns of the sons of Clotaire, 
only stay for a moment to point out a trait of gene- 
rosity which shines brightly among the awful dark- 
ness of all around it. Assassinated by his wife Fre- 
digonde and her paramour Landri, Chilperic, one of 
the monarchs of France, left but one son, an infant 
of four months old, surrounded by jealousies and 
dangers on every side. In such a state of things it 
seemed a natural consequence that the late king's 
brother Gontran, and his nephew Chi]debert,f either 
should divide the kingdom, or that Gontran, who had 
many causes of provocation against Chilperic, should 
seize upon the whole inheritance, and ensure his 
possessions by putting the infant heir to death. 
Gontran, however, seems to have been formed of 
different clay from the kings of that age ; and march- 
ing upon Paris, he took his young nephew under his 
protection, caused the cities and the nobles to swear 
fealty to their new monarch, and weeping bitterly 
for the murder of his brother, defended his child 
against all danger, while at the same time he ren- 
dered justice to all those whom Chilperic himself 
had plundered, redressed the wrongs of the people, 
and brought back justice and security, which had 
been long turned from their course during the former 
reign.! 

This child of four months old, possessing the 

* Greg. Tur. lib. x. ; Chron. Fredigar. 

t The son of another brother. t Greg. Tur. ; Chron. Fredigar. j 



58 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

smallest portion of the French empire, and menaced 
from his cradle with every danger that could beset 
life and property, became afterward sole possessor 
of Gaul, under the name of Clotaire the Second, and 
governed well and wisely for many years.* In his 
reign we find several of the Roman titles which 
were attached to particular offices under the empire, 
now adopted by the Franks, and forming a class of 
official nobility, if I may use the term, which soon 
after became hereditary. Thus the names of duke 
and count, derived from the Roman dux and comes, 
are common in all the writings of the seventh cen- 
tury. At first they seem to have been employed by 
the Franks merely as military distinctions,! but they 
soon became attached to local governments, and 
in the end, though several centuries after, they were 
rendered hereditary, — a quality which, it is curious 
to remark, was at this time only attached to the 
station of king. 

At what time the person invested with the dignity 
of count by the Merovingian kings first began to 
exercise in the provinces the functions of judge is 
difficult to be determined with precision, but that he 
did so long before the time of CharlemagneJ is be- 
yond all doubt. Possessing authority to administer 
what was termed high and low justice, or to decide 
in all but ecclesiastical cases, it is probable that the 
provincial counts, when their titles became heredi- 
tary, retained the same privileges ; and that thus 
arose that part of the feudal system which attributed 
the dispensation of justice to the high nobility. 

In addition, however, to the counts I have just 
mentioned, I find, in the very reign§ of which I am 
now treating, another officer called the Count of the 
Palace, or Count Palatine, whose functions are much 
better defined, and whose office existed till the 
dynasty was changed a second time, at the acces- 

* Chron. Fredigar. t Gamier. 

$ Ducange, Dissert, jtiv. $ Chron. Fredigar. ■ • 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 59 

sion of Hugh Capet.* There are instances men- 
tioned even afterward, but few. 

The duties of the counts of the palace were very- 
distinct from those of the maires of the palace, and 
comprised the general administration of justice,! 
not only, as has been supposed, in cases where the 
mere household of the king was concerned, but in 
all those instances where, from any circumstances, 
the highest authority was sought. 

It is true that one of their chief avocations was 
to hear and judgej in all cases where the king's in- 
terest, either personal or royal, was affected ; but at 
the same time, all appeals from the courts of the 
provincial counts fell under their cognizance, and 
all causes of sufficient importance to call for the 
royal decision itself were referred to them, as the 
officers on whom the king reposed a duty which 
would have been too operose to be joined with the 
other occupations of government. 

Under the successors of Clovis, the functions of 
count of the palace were performed by one person ; 
though afterward we find several joined in this trust 
at one time. His decisions were without appeal, 
and affected all cases ; but this attribute, which might 
have proved dangerous, received some check from 
the sort of counsellors by whom he was assisted, 
called Scabini Palatii. The power indeed remained 
with him ; but the exercise of power is always con- 
trolled, even by the presence of persons who, though 
they cannot prevent, may oppose its abuse. Nor 
was it by the presence of those counsellors of the 
palace only that the immense authority of the count 
was restrained. Many individuals of the higher and 
more esteemed of the nobility, as it then existed, 
were often called by the king to assist at the de- 
cisions of this count palatine $ and, perhaps, in this 

* R. Glaber. 

t Hincmar, de Ord. Palat. J Ducange, Dissert, xiv. 

§ Chron. St. Benigni, Col. Script. Langobard. 



60 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

may be traced the faint shadow of the king's Court 
of Peers. At all events, there is a strong similitude 
between the two institutions. The king was effectu- 
ally, in the one as well as in the other, the head of 
the judicial court, and was often present at its judg- 
ments. The persons called to sit in each were the 
same ; and the only material difference that existed 
in the constitution of the two assemblies was, that in 
the latter a fixed rule had been adopted with respect 
to the members who composed it, and that the right 
of appearing there was a privilege, not a concession. 
Institutions of any very great importance are rarely 
founded at once, but generally proceed for years, 
gaining slowly form and stability. Nor are they, 
generally, the effect of any one cause, but rather of 
the combination of many precedents, which by accu- 
mulation, not only form laws, but also institute tri- 
bunals. 

Another fact occurs in the reign of Clotaire the 
Second, which gave rise to circumstances extremely 
like the meeting and judgment of the Court of Peers, 
such as we find described many centuries afterward. 
Having associated his son Dagobert to the throne, 
Clotaire ceded to him that part of France which had 
been called, while separated, the kingdom of Austra- 
sia. On what terms this cession was made we can- 
not at present ascertain ; but it appears that a part 
of the territory was retained by the king, which Da- 
gobert imagined justly belonged to the domain as- 
signed him. A violent contest succeeded between 
the father and the son,* in consequence of which 
twelve of the nobles, among whom were several 
bishops, were called upon to terminate the difference 
by a judgment. Their decision was unfavourable to 
Clotaire; but he yielded without resistance, and 
placed his son in possession of the whole of the ter- 
ritory in dispute. 

* Chron. Fredigar. ; Vit. Dagobert,- v. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 61 

That the assembly called on the present occasion 
was totally distinct and different from the national 
assembly, from the Plaid, or from any other ordi- 
nary court, is perfectly susceptible of proof ; yet I 
do not mean in the least to say that the tribunal by 
which this judgment was given was the usual meet- 
ing of an organized court, which went on continu- 
ously into after-years. We know historically that 
it was not ; but it is the reiterated occurrence of such 
events that, in the end, very often produces regular 
institutions. 

Another officer of the crown at this time, and one 
of the highest, was the maire of the palace, though 
hitherto he had made no step towards that immense 
influence which his situation commanded in after- 
days. The maire of the palace was, in fact, merely 
master of the king's household; and took the name 
of major domus regice, or gubernator palatii ; and we 
have no reason to believe that, previous to the reign 
of Clotaire the Second, any power was intrusted to 
him further than that which the title implied. 

In the reign of that prince, however, a degree of 
separate authority seems to have been confided to 
the maires of the palace ; and we find that on the 
whole of France being once more united into one 
monarchy,* Clotaire appointed maires for each of 
the kingdoms into which it had been formerly 
divided. The very separation of the office from the 
existing royal household seems to imply that its 
functions had by this time become different ; and 
Fredigaire, or Idatius, as he has been wrongly 
called by some, marks particularly that Herpon, sent 
as maire du palais beyond the Jura, was killed in a 
rebellion, while acting the part of a wise judge and 
governor. 

In the reign that followed,! tne authority of the 
maires of the palace, though greatly increased, was 

* Chron. Fredigar. t Chron. Fredigar. ; Vit. Dagobert. 

F 



62 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

kept within due bounds by the powerful mind of Da- 
gobert ; and even after that mind had been injured 
by debauchery and indolence, his prompt and war- 
like character supplied the place of greater virtues, 
and held in check the ambition of his followers. 
Nevertheless, that ambition had full scope to extend 
itself during the infancy of the two sons of Dagobert, 
between whom the kingdom was divided after his 
early death. 

The men, however, whom he had appointed to 
superintend the affairs of the realm during the mi- 
nority of his children, seem to have justified his 
choice. Pepin the elder,* to whom the government 
of Austrasia was confided, with the young king Si- 
gebert, and Ega, who directed the education of Clo- 
vis the Second, both seem to have done justice to 
their charge to the end of their lives ; but the space 
allotted to either was brief. Neither of them lived 
more than three years after their lord; and they 
died, leaving the kingdom to anarchy, bloodshed, 
and devastation. 

The power of the maires of the palace had now 
begun to extend itself to every department of the 
government ; and, after a very short lapse of time, 
that power was so strongly confirmed, that Ebroin,f 
who had been long disgraced and confined in a mon- 
astery, issued forth on the accession of Theoderic, 
or Thieri, to the throne of France, and compelled 
his sovereign, by force of arms, to receive him as 
maire. He had previously murdered the noble who 
had been elevated to that post during his absence ; 
and, after having perpetrated such an act, it may be 
well supposed he reigned supreme. 

His whole soul seems to have been given up now 

* There seems to be considerable reason to doubt whether the tutelage 
of Sigebert was confided to Pepin the elder by Dagobert himself, or 
whether Pepin assumed it, on the monarch's death, in spite of the former 
nomination of a maire of the palace called Adelgisus. The matter, how- 
ever, is not only obscure, but unimportant. 

f Ursinus, in Vit. S. Leodeg. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 63 

to the accumulation of his wealth and the extension 
of his authority, however base and bloody were the 
means to be employed for that purpose. A clever 
but somewhat fanciful writer* has seen, or imagined, 
in the character of Ebroin, the defender of the peo- 
ple against the aggressions and encroachments of 
the nobility ; but I confess that I can find no trace 
of any two parties such as those to which he refers, 
and certainly no earthly cause for supposing Ebroin 
to have been a martyr to any thing but cupidity, cru- 
elty, and ambition. There was no popular party — 
all was a chaos formed of the rude, irregular, and 
contending passions of individuals. The dukes, the 
counts, the bishops, the patricians,! — all struggled 
for their own aggrandizement — all sought to wring 
new privileges from the crown, or to rob new terri- 
tories from their neighbours. Some one, more 
strong or more talented than the rest, inflicted him- 
self on the monarch as his maire du palais, attached 
such of the nobles and leudes to his own party as he 
could win by presents, promises, and favours, and 
stood in open warfare against all the rest ; who each, 
on their part, waited but the opportunity to snatch 
the dignity from him that possessed it. The mon- 
archs, if by chance they were endowed with any 
energy of disposition, struggled, but struggled in 
vain, to cast off the yoke of their more than royal 
ministers ; and if they were, as usually happened, 
weak and slothful, they continued to exist, governed 
instead of governing, and committing the meanest 
fault of which kings can be guilty — lending their name \ 

, to the tyranny of others. Thus, immersed in effemi- "' 

i 

* Sismondi. 

t We meet continually, in the chronicles of these times, the name of 
patrician applied to persons of high rank ; and probably this title was 
reserved to persons descended from the groat Roman families, even long 
after the Roman power was no longer known in Gaul. It must in no 
degree be confounded, however, with the title of patrician of Rome, which 
was synonymous wiih that of exarch, according to the Liber Pontificalis, 
which makes use of the two terms indifferently, as implying perfectly 
the same oliice. 



64 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

nacy, debauchery, and sloth, ran on a long" race of 
kings, called in history the Sluggard Kings, or les 
rois faineans ; till at length Chilperic the Second en- 
deavoured to shake off the chains with which his 
race had been so long shackled. 

The effort was made, however, at an unhappy mo- 
ment, and against a man whose energy as a politi- 
cian, and skill as a warrior, rendered him the most 
tremendous adversary that a king could encounter. 
I speak of the famous Charles Martel. Chilperic 
was defeated ; Charles was acknowledged maire du 
palais ; and, as if but to give him opportunity for the 
display of his extraordinary powers, enemies sprang 
up on all sides, and were conquered as they arose. 
The Saxons, the Frisons, the Gascons, andthe Sara- 
cens were one by one overthrown ; the whole of 
France was reduced to obedience ; and Charles Mar- 
tel was king in all but the name.* But he was king 
of a land which had lost all that makes a throne de- 
sirable, — arts, sciences, peace, stability. The seas 
of blood which had been poured out in the intestine 
struggles of the French nobles had washed away 
every tincture of literature which had been left by 
the Romans. The arts and the commerce which, 
even as late as the reign of Dagobert, had been seen 
flourishing in luxuriance, were now all crushed under 
the iron steps of civil war. Long arrears of hatred 
and vengeance had been accumulated between each 
family and each province of the land. No principle 
of law or justice remained to restrain the strong or 
to protect the weak ; and no acknowledged power 
of legislation existed, except in the sword. Such 
was the state of the kingdom over which Charles 
Martel fixed his sway. It is not my purpose here 

* Pope Gregory II., in demanding the aid of the Franks, never dreams 
of addressing himself to the Merovingians, but writes at once— " Domino 
excellentissimo Jilio Carolo Subregulo, Gregorius Papa.'" His letters 
afford a curious specimen of bold but barbarous eloquence. See the Co 
dex Carolinus. 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 65 

to trace his victories, or recapitulate the enemies by 
which he was attacked. It is sufficient to say, that 
under his administration order was in some degree 
restored by the sole vigour of the hand which held 
the reins of government ; but the sciences which 
had fled, and the arts which had been lost, remained 
unrecovered till a brighter era opened, and a more 
comprehensive mind awoke, to recall the treasures 
of the former days. 

Having so far given a sketch of the progress of 
France, however short and imperfect, I must pause 
for a moment to notice some of the changes which 
had taken place in Italy, since Odoacer had wrested 
the sceptre of the Cesars from the weak hands of 
Orestes and his son. 

On this subject I shall be still more brief. Odo- 
acer was not long suffered to enjoy the undisputed 
possession of his usurped dominions. Theoderic, the 
Ostrogoth, a man of extraordinary talents and many 
high moral qualities, blended with many of the vices 
of his age and his nation,* invaded the territories 
which Odoacer had usurped, and after both conquest 
and perfidy obtained the sovereignty of Italy. His 
virtues and abilities once more promised peace and 
prosperity to Rome ; but his faults delayed the pro- 
gress of improvement, and his death transferred the 
power to a line of weaker and less fortunate princes 
than himself. 

The victories of Belisarius, and the majestic suc- 
cesses of the eunuch Narses, are too well known to 
call for recapitulation. Suffice it, that the talents, 
virtues, and firmness of that last great man snatched 
the whole of Italy from the dominion of the bar- 
barians, and, as Exarch of Ravenna, he governed 
the ancient territories of Rome from the Alps to the 
Ionian Sea, in the name of the Emperor of the East. 

* JSnnodius ; Jornandes ; Amrnian. Marceliij. 

F2 



66 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

The exarchs became the sovereigns of Italy ; but 
Justinian, by mild and equitable laws, endeavoured 
to ensure from oppression the people whom he 
yielded to the certain evils of delegated sway. The 
bishops of Rome, or popes, were the mediators who 
procured from the Eastern emperor this benefit for 
the varied inhabitants of Italy; and to those bishops 
themselves Justinian intrusted some part of the 
civil government of the state ; which perhaps may 
be looked upon as the first small nucleus round 
which they afterward collected the immense mass 
of their temporal power. 

For but a short period Italy, as a whole, remained 
attached to the empire, and free from barbarian in- 
vasion. The ingratitude of a court he had served, 
and a people he had delivered, drove Narses into re- 
sistance if it drove him not to treachery; and Italy, 
laid open to the Lombards, was soon divided between 
the monarch of that people and the Exarch of Ra- 
venna. 

Thus it continued for many years in continual 
struggles between the Romans and the barbarians, 
during the dangers and uncertainties of which peril- 
ous times the great fabric of the Roman church was 
first placed upon a solid foundation, by the genius 
and virtues of Gregory the First ; and was raised 
up, stone by stone, by his more interested and am- 
bitious successors. 

At length, about a century and a half after the 
Lombard invasion of Italy, the Emperor Leo, the 
Iconoclast, by attempting, with fanatic violence, to 
reform the superstitious worship of images, once 
more separated the Roman territories in Italy from 
the Eastern empire ; and the separation was for ever. 
After having succeeded in the East in pulling down 
the sacred images which for many years had been 
revered through the whole Christian world, and 
having, with vulgar intemperance, insulted the ob- 
noxious clay, the emperor issued his commands to 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 67 

his western subjects, enjoining the same destruc- 
tion of the statues, and the same abandonment of all 
material representations of spiritual objects. But 
the people of Italy were less disposed than even the 
Greeks to yield a system of devotion which gave 
tangible forms as a link between faith and imagina- 
tion ; and they also had greater facilities of resist- 
ance. 

The decrees of Leo were rejected with contempt 
and abhorrence; the bishops of Rome proclaimed 
his doctrine heretical ; warned, admonished, and 
finally excommunicated* the emperor himself; and 
all Italy rose at once to throw off the yoke of the 
East. Many and ineffectual attempts were made 
both by arms and negotiations to reduce Rome once 
more to obedience ; but the bonds were broken, and 
though no new emperor was elected for many years, 
the two countries were absolutely and in fact sepa- 
rated from each other. For a time some of the 
forms of a republic were resumed ; but the pope, 
who had been the guide and the support of the peo- 
ple in their resistance, now became their chief and 
their ruler. It is not improbable that his govern- 
ment would have gone on with a regular increase of 
domination, and that the same results which were 
afterward obtained would have been equally pro- 
duced, had not danger and necessity forced the pope 
to call in the aid of a great foreign ally, when the 
reciprocation of benefit and support extended and 
strengthened the power of each. 

The danger which thus compelled the bishops of 
Rome to apply for assistance to the rulers of the 

* Some doubts have arisen whether the pope did literally excommuni- 
cate his sovereign ; but this fact is precisely stated in the Life of Gregory 
II., in Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores,\o\. iii. part 2d, page 67 : 
" Item quod cum Leo Imperator Imagines Christi, et Beatae Virginia 
Mariae, et aliorum Sanctorum, quas incivitate Constantinopolitana inve- 
nire potuit, ipse igne crernari jussisset, et ob monitus se emendare nolu- 
isset, ideo ipse Gregorius, tamquam verum heretlcum condemnavit et 
anathematizavit. — Ex Amalrico Augerio." 



68 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

Franks arose from the growing demands and am- 
bitious policy of the Lombards. 

That nation had strenuously supported the Church 
of Rome in her separation from the Eastern empire ; 
but soon took advantage of the dissensions which 
followed, and the weakness of all parties, to seek 
extension of territory and aggrandizement by con- 
quest. For a time remonstrance, negotiation, and 
threats withheld the Lombards from attempting the 
actual conquest of Rome ; but at length the prize 
appeared too tempting for longer forbearance, and 
Astolphus, King of the Lombards, prepared to re- 
duce the whole of Italy to his dominion. The Ro- 
man pontiff had no resource but to call the ruler of 
the French nation to his deliverance. 

That ruler was the maire of the palace.* Astol- 
phus, as I shall notice more fully hereafter, was 
twice defeated ; Rome and the power of the church 
were secured ; and the family of Heristal laid up for 
future years a title to support from the apostolic 
see. 

This digression has necessarily conducted me 
farther than the reign of Charles Martel, who, during 
the first encroachments of the Lombards, could only 
afford the Roman pontiff the aid of intercession and 
remonstrance with his enemy. The danger of his 
own situation at that time, the host of domestic and 
foreign adversaries by which he was threatened, and 
the painful anarchy which prevailed through the 
kingdom he was called to rule, chained him to the 
soil of Gaul till he had successively triumphed in 
almost every part of the Frankish territories. But 
he did triumph over every attack, silenced enmity, 
crushed faction, and overcame revolt. A more gen- 
eral government was instituted, foreign enemies 
were driven from the land, and many provinces 
which the feebleness of former ministers had suf- 

* Pepin, the son of Charles Martel, 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 69 

fered to be detached, were now regained and con- 
solidated. 

The kingdom being once more united, the people 
accustomed to the domination of maires of the 
palace, the king's existence forgotten, and the 
usurped authority strengthened by a thousand vic- 
tories, Charles probably thought it useless, if not 
contemptible, to decorate the power which he held 
by his own right hand with a title which many a 
reign of weakness had rendered degrading. He 
made war or peace in his own name, he granted 
dignities and domains without mention of the king, — 
he raised up, he cast down, he commanded, he 
reigned. Such sway sufficed him ; and he was con- 
tent. Not so his son Pepin, who succeeded, and for 
some years reigned with his brother Carloman. As 
long as the latter was joined with him in authority 
Pepin contented himself with the name of maire du 
palais ; and thus designated, the two brothers, in 
perfect union, governed, and fought, and triumphed 
together. But to make use of the eloquent words 
of the Bishop of Meaux, Carloman, disgusted with 
the age, in the midst of his greatness and his vic- 
tories, yielded his power into the hands of his 
brother, and voluntarily turned to monastic seclusion. 

From that moment the crown became Pepin's ob- 
ject. To take it was not difficult, for it had been 
long within reach ; but to secure it to himself and 
to his successors was not so easy a task. The dan- 
gerous precedent of dethroning his king he knew 
might be fatally made use of by others ; more es- 
pecially against himself and his family, whose ille- 
gitimate possession might ever strengthen the pre- 
tences of rebellion. It is true that rights are in- 
herent, and never can be created where they do not 
exist ; but in that barbarous age rights were unde- 
fined ; and though Pepin might easily have founded 
his title on the will of the people, he well knew that 
there too was an expedient that might ever be com- 



70 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

manded by the great and the successful. As some 
prop to the uncertain basis of popular election, he 
resolved to strengthen the foundation of his dynasty 
by the most solemn sanction of the church.* That 
sanction was easily obtained ; for the church was in 
hourly need of military support ; the people shouted 
their consent; Childeric was dethroned and con- 
fined in a monastery ; and Pepin, having been sol- 
emnly crowned by the papal legate at Soissons, as- 
sumed the style of king, after having long possessed 
the power.f 

* As the point has been contested warmly, whether Zachary, the pope, 
did, or did not, really sanction the elevation of Pepin, I here give the 
words, ungrammatical as they sometimes are, in which that sanction is 
either expressed or implied by the chronicles of the day : — 

" Reversis legatis, objectoque Childerico, qui tunc regium nomen habe- 
bat, Franci per consilium legatorum et Zacharias Pontiflcis electum Pi- 
pinum regem sibi constituunt." — Ado Archiepis. Viennensis. 

" Pipinus— per auctorilafem Romani Pontiflcis ex Prefecto Palatii, rox 
eonstitutus. "-^-Chron. Moissiacensis. 

" Pipinus, ex consultu B. Zachariae Papse urbis Romae, a Bonifacio 
Archiepiscopo unctus, rex constituitur Francorum." — Chron. Fonta- 
nellcns. 

" Zacharias Papa mandat populo Francorum, ut Pipinus, qui 

potestate regia utebatur, nominis quoque dignitate frueretur." — Annates 
Fuldenses. 

t See Eginhard,ann. 749; Annal. Loiselian. 749 ; Annal. Fuldenses, 
arm. 751 ; Eginhard, in Vita Caroli Magni. 




Dominas noster, Karolw Imperator, 
pins felir, perpetuo Augustus. 




Renovatio Roman i Imperii. 




Jesu nate Dei Carlnm defende potenter. Gloria sit Christo regi victoria Carlo, 



Seals of Charlemagne a? preserved l»y I»e Blanc 
and Blanenint* 



THE 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 



BOOK I. 

FROM THE BIRTH OP CHARLEMAGNE TO HIS ACCESSION. 

FROM A. D. 742 TO A. D. 768. 

Birth of Charlemagne— His Mofl>?'.- Bertha— Coronation of his Father— 
His early Education unknown— Is sent to welcome Stephen II. on his 
Arrival in France — The Cause of the Pope's Journey — The Oppression 
of the Lombards — Pepin resolves to defend the Romans— Demands 
that the Pope should repeat his Coronation — Charlemagne is crowned 
with his Father— First Conquest of Lombardy by Pepin— Union of the 
Exarchate and Pentapolis to Rome— Second Conquest of Lombardy — 
War in Aquitaine— Death of Remistan — Death of Pepin— Pepin com- 
pared with Charles Martsl. 

The precise birthplace of the greatest man of the 
middle ages is unknown ;* neither have any records 
come down to us of his education, nor any particu- 
lars of those early years which are generally orna- 
mented by the imagination of after biographers, eve- i 
when the subject of their writing has left his infancy 
in obscurity. 

Eginhard, who possessed the best means of know- 
ledge, frankly avows that he was himself ignorant ;f 
and the manuscript of a contemporary author,! whose 

* The Monk of St. Gall implies that Aix-la-Chapelle was the birth 
place of Charlemagne.— Lib. i cap. 30. 

t Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni, cap. 4. 

j The preface to the First Book of the Deeds of Charlemagne, by the 
Monk of St. Gall, is lost. 

G 



74 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

propensity to anecdote gives a value to his details 
which neither the style of his composition nor the 
accuracy of his statements could bestow, is defect- 
ive in that part which might have afforded some 
infoimation, iiowever vague, regarding the youth of 
Charlemagne. 

The year of his birth, however, as ascertained by 
computation from other data, seems undoubtedly 
to have been A. D. 742, about seven years before 
his father, Pepin the Brief, assumed the name of 
king. 

His mother was Bertha,* daughter of Charibert 
Count of Laon ; and concerning her early union with 
Pepin a thousand pleasant fables have supplied the 
place of all accurate information. Although one of 
the papal epistles to Charlemagnef insinuates that 
Pepin at one time contemplated a separation from 
Bertha, for the purpose of marrying another woman, 
it is evident that she was loved and honoured by her 
husband, from the fact of her having shared in the 
new and solemn spectacle by which Pepin attempted 
to consecrate, in the eyes of the people, his usurpa- 
tion of the supreme authority. 

To the forms usually observed on the accession of 
a new monarch of the Franks, Pepin added various 
ceremonies which had never before been used in 
Gaul. Among these, the ' most striking, from its 
novelty, was the unction which had been instituted 
for the kings of Israel, and which was readily per- 
formed for the Frankish usurper by the famous Boni- 
face, Archbishop of Metz. In all the solemnities 
which dignified the elevation of her husband Bertha 
was a partaker ; and many have been the laborious 
struggles of historians to discover, or invent, various 
complex and political motives for so very natural an 
.occurrence ; but it would seem, that the simple desire 

* Annates Bertiniani, ann.747. 
t Codex Carolinus, Epibt. .\lv. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 75 

of distinctly marking: that his personal elevation to 
the royal station implied the elevation of his whole 
family, and the permanence of the kingly office in 
his race, was the sole view of the new sovereign of 
the Franks. 

The influence which she exercised over her hus- 
band, and the reverence which her children always 
displayed towards her, render it probable that to 
Bertha herself was intrusted the early education 
of Charlemagne. Still it is greatly to be regretted 
that we do not possess any details of the tuition 
under which the mind of that prince put forth, 
between infancy and manhood, those grand and 
splendid qualities which, hidden in the darkness that 
overhangs his youth, shine out immediately on his 
accession to the throne, like the rising of a tropical 
day, which, we are told, bursts forth at once in its 
splendour, unannounced by the slow progress of the 
dawning twilight. 

Nevertheless, although nothing is known of the 
minute particulars either of his domestic instruction 
or his early habits, there was a grander species of 
education to which he was subject, and of which we 
have better means of judging : T mean the education 
of circumstances. It is a common influence of 
troublous times, not alone to bring forward, but to 
form, great intellect. The familiarity with scenes of 
danger and excitement — the early exercise of thought 
upon great and difficult subjects — the habit of sup- 
porting, encountering, and vanquishing, the very 
proximity of mighty schemes and mighty changes, 
must necessarily give expansion, vigour, and activity 
to every faculty of the mind, as much as robust 
exercises and habitual hardships strengthen and 
improve the body. In the midst of such uncertain 
and eventful times, and surrounded by such grand 
and animating circumstances, was passed the youth 
of Charlemagne ; and though we cannot discover 



76 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

whether paternal or maternal care afforded the means 
of cultivating his intellect or directing his pursuits, 
to a mind naturally great and comprehensive, like his 
own, the world was a sufficient school — the events 
by which he was surrounded sufficient instructers. 

The first act* performed before his eyes was the 
consummation of all his ancestors' ambitious glory, 
by the mighty daring of his own father :f and this 
instance of the ease with which great deeds are 
achieved by great minds was a practical lesson and 
a powerful incitement. 

The firstj act of his own life — a task which com- 
bined both dignity and beneficence- -was to meet, as 
deputy for his father, the suppliant chief of the 
Roman church, and to conduct him with honour to 
the monarch's presence. The event in which he 
thus took part, and which afterward affected the 
current of his whole existence, originated in the 
unhappy state of Rome, which I have before slightly 
noticed, and in the continual and increasing pressure 
of the Lombards upon that unstable republic which 
had arisen in Italy, after its separation from the 
empire of the East. The second and third Gregory 
had in vain implored the personal succour^ of Charles 
Martel to defend the Roman territory from the hostile 
designs of their encroaching neighbours ; and Zach- 
arias, who had succeeded to the authority and diffi- 
culties of those two pontiffs, had equally petitioned 
Pepin for some more effectual aid than remonstrances 
sddressed to the dull ear of ambition, and menaces 
which began to be despised. 

* A. D.752. Chron. Fredigar. cap. cxix. 

t Various dates are given by the best authorities in regard to these 
events. The elevation of Pepin is stated to have taken place in 749 by 
some, in 752 by others ; but 1 am inclined to believe, that though the 
pope's sanction was demanded in 749-50, the coronation of the new 
monarch did not really take place till March, 752, notwithstanding the 
positive assertion of Eginhard. 

t A. D. 754. $ Muratori, Rer. Script. Italic. ; Codex Carolinus 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 77 

Under Stephen, who followed Zacharias, and 
ascended the papal chair soon after the elevation of 
Pepin to the sovereign power, the danger of Rome 
became still more imminent ; for Astolphus, the 
Lombard king, contemning alike the threats of an 
avenger who did not appear, and the exhortations of 
a priest who had no means of resistance, imposed 
an immense tribute on the citizens of Rome, and 
prepared to enforce the payment by arms.* But by 
this time the popes or bishops of Rome had estab- 
lished a stronger claim upon the rulers of France 
than that which they had formerly possessed. The 
instability of Pepin's title to the crown had made him 
eager to add a fictitious authority to the mutable 
right of popular election ; and having, as we have 
before seen, joined to the voice of the people the 
sanction of the pope, he divided between two a debt 
which might have been dangerous or burdensome 
while in the hands of one. By this means, however, 
he gave to the Roman pontiffs a claim and a power ; 
and Stephen now resolved to exert it in the exigence 
of his country. 

In the moment of immediate danger, when Rome 
was threatened by hostile armies, and her fields 
swept by invading barbarians, the prelate, with a 
worthy boldness, set out from the ancient queen of 
empires, as a suppliant,! determined to apply, first 
for justice and immunity at the court of Astolphus, 
the King of the Lombards, and, in case of rejection, 
then for protection and vengeance at the hands of 
the new monarch of the Franks. 

Astolphus was deaf to all petitions, and despised 
all threats. Ravenna had fallen, and Rome he had 
determined to subdue. But the pope pursued his 
way in haste ; and, traversing the Alps, set his foot 
with joy on the territories of a friend and an ally. 
The French monarch was then returning from one 

* Codex Carolin. ; Chron. Fredigar. ; Ann. Eginhard. 
t Annales Mettens, A. D. 754. 
G2 



78 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

of his victorious expeditions* against the Saxons ; 
and the messengers from Stephen met him on the 
banks of the Moselle. 

The most common of all accusations against the 
human heart, and, I might add, against the human 
mind, is ingratitude. But in an uncivilized state of 
society, where rights are less protected, and man- 
kind depend more on the voluntary reciprocation of 
individual benefits and assistance than on fixed rules 
and a uniform government, the possession of such 
emotions as gratitude and generosity would seem 
to be more necessarily considered as a virtue, and 
the want of them more decidedly as a crime, than in 
periods or in countries where the exertions of each 
man is sufficient for his own support, and the law is 
competent to the protection of all. 

Besides a feeling of obligation towards the Roman 
pontiffs, which the new sovereign did not hesitate 
a moment to acknowledge and obey, the call of the 
pope was perfectly consonant to Pepin's views and 
disposition, as a man, a king, and a warrior. To 
welcome the Bishop of Rome, therefore, the mon- 
arch instantly despatched his eldest son Charles, 
then scarcely twelve years of age, and every honour 
was paid to the head of the Catholic church that 
reverence or gratitude could inspire. f 

This is the first occasion on which we find Charle- 
magne mentioned in history ; but the children of 
the Franks were trained in their very early years to 
robust and warlike exercises ; and there is every 
reason to believe that great precocity, both of bodily 



r ' * Chron. Fredigar. Continuat. ; Ann. Eginhard, 753. 

t The honours shown to the pontiff on his arrival are made the most 
of by the after historians of the popes. Amalricus describes the event 
as follows :— " Cui venienti Pippinus cum magna militia occurrit, et ipse 
statim de suo equo descendit in terram, et postea per spatium trium mil- 
liariorum vice ac modo stratoris, cum magna humilitate et devotione, 
exstitit in terra postratus."— Mutator. Rer. Script. Hal. torn. ii. A cor- 
rupt extravagance, expressed in barbarous language, and written for the 
purpose of magnifying the antiquity of the papal power. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 79 

and mental powers, fitted the prince for the office 
which was intrusted to him by his father. 

From the distinction with which Pepin received 
the prelate, and from the bold and candid character 
of that monarch, little doubt can exist that he at 
once determined to protect the Roman state from 
the exacting monarch of the Lombards, by the 
effectual and conclusive interposition of arms. The 
King of the Franks, however, had still something- to 
demand at the hands of the pope ;* and the remon- 
strance of Astolphus, who pleaded hard by his en- 
voys against the proposed interference, raised Pepin 
to the character of umpire and judge, enhanced the 
value of his mediation, and gave him a claim, not 
likely to be rejected, for some return on the part of 
Stephen. 

In regard to many of the particular circumstances 
of this time contemporary historians are silent ; and 
Anastasius, who lived at a later period, when the 
papal power had obtained in a great measure the 
ascendency which it so long possessed, is so evidently 
incorrect in regard to several of the numerous details 
he gives, that great caution is necessary in receiving 
his account. 

With those anxious fears for the stability of his 
authority which must always attend usurpation, 
Pepin eagerly sought every means of strengthening 
his title to the throne of France ; and, not content 
with the pontifical sanction already given, deter- 
mined on obtaining from the pope, during his visit 
of supplication, some new act of recognition and 
consecration. On a positive pre miscf of aid from 
the monarch of the Franks, Stephen formally ab- 
solved him for the breach of his oath of allegiance 
to Childeric; and repeated the ceremony of his 

* The manner in which Eginhard describes this transaction gives it, I 
am sorry to say, somewhat the air of a bargain. See Annal. Eginhard, 
ann. 754. 

t Annal. Eginhard, ann. 754. 



80 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

coronation in the church of St. Denis. Nor were 
precautions wanting to guard against any future 
exercise of the same popular power which had 
snatched the crown from one monarch, and bestowed 
it on another. The pope launched his anathema at 
all those who should attempt to deprive the Carlo- 
vingian line of the throne they had assumed ; and 
Charles* and Carloman, the two sons of Pepin, were 
crowned together with their parents by the hands 
of the Roman pontiff. 

As he had chosen by the papal sanction to prop 
his authority, originally raised upon the sandy found- 
ation of popular election, the French monarch was 
of course moved by every principle of prudence, as 
well as by the remembrance of his promise, to 
strengthen and support the Roman church. Almost 
immediately on the arrival of the pope, Pepin de- 
spatched messengers to Astolphus, requiring him to 
abandon his demands upon the city of Rome,f and 
to cease his aggressions on the Roman territory. 
Astolphus refused to comply ; but, as he well knew 
the power of the Frankish nation, he sought to avert 
the storm which threatened him before he prepared 
to encounter it. Carloman, the brother of Pepin, 
who had resigned his inheritance in France, aban- 
doned the world, and sought the best desire of hu- 
man nature, peace, in the shade of the cloister, was 
at that time dwelling in a monastery within the 

* Afterward called Charlemagne by the easy corruption of Carolus 
Magnus " The appellation of Great,'" says Gibbon, " has often been 
bestowed, and sometimes deserved ; but Charlemagne is the only prince 
in whose favour the title has been indissolubly blended with the name." 

t Monsieur Gaillard, by following Anastasius, and other writers of an 
after period, has confused the events, and has given a specious theory, 
instead of historical fact. He represents Carloman as willingly and 
eagerly opposing his brother's views, and makes the embassy to the 
King of the Lombards subsequent to the meeting of the Champ de Mars. 
The continuators of Fredigarins, however, who wrote by the direction 
and under the eye of Childebrand the uncle, and Nibelung the first cousin 
of Pepin, declare, that the monarch despatched messengers to Astolphus 
the year of the pope's arrival ; and Eginhard represents Carloman as 
acting against his own will. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 81 

limits of the Lombard dominions. The eye of Astol- 
phus immediately fell upon him as a fit messenger to 
his brother ; and he was compelled by the orders 
of his abbot* to journey into France, and to oppose 
at the court of the French monarch the wishes and 
designs of the pontiff. 

A custom, which must be more particularly no- 
ticed hereafter, existed at this time among the 
Franks, of determining upon war or peace at the 
great assembly of the nation in what was called a 
Champ de Mars ; and though the maires of the pala.ce 
had frequently violated this ancient institution, Pe- 
pin, who courted popularity, called upon his people, 
in almost all instances, to sanction any warfare he 
was about to undertake. 

In the present case, where greater and more im- 
portant interests were involved, he did not fail to 
add the consent of the nation to his own determina- 
tion ; and, at the Champ de Mars, held after his 
coronation, he announced to the nobles of the land 
his resolution of defending Rome from her enemies 
by force of arms. In the same assembly, his brother 
Carlomanf is said to have remonstrated publicly 
against this purpose ; but the assertion is founded 
on the faith of after historians, whose evidence is 
doubtful, if not inadmissible. In the dim obscurity 
which hangs over these far ages the more important 
facts only appear distinct ; and those which are 
clearly known, in regard to the transactions of which 
we speak, are simply! that the nobles of France 
concurred completely in the views of the king, and 
that Pepin marched with an immense army towards 
the frontiers of Italy ; leaving Bertha his wife,§ and 

* Eginhard Annates, ami. 753. 

t The writer who makes this statement does not cite his authorities on 
these points ; but probably he derived his views from Anastasius, and 
from the Annals of Metz, both of which works were composed consider- 
ably after the period of the transactions referred to. 

X Chron. Fredigar. Contin. § Annal. Eginhard, ann. 755. 



82 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

Carloman his brother, at Vienne,* in Dauphiny, 
where Carloman died before the monarch's return 
from his Italian expedition. 

The Lombards, warned of the approaching inva- 
sion, immediately occupied the passes of that moun- 
tain barrier which nature has placed for the defence 
of the Italian peninsula. A battle was fought among 
the hills ; the Lombards were defeated ; and the 
Franks poured down into the ancient territories of 
the Romans. Pepin marched* forward with that 
bold celerity which distinguished all his race ; and 
at once laid siege to Pavia, within the walls of 
which Astolphus had taken refuge. The war was 
carried on by the Franks with all the unsparing ac- 
tivity of a barbarous nation : and, while the Lombard 
capital was invested on all sides, bands of plunderers 
were spread over the country to ravage, pillage, and 
destroy.f 

Astolphus at length submitted to the power he 
was in no condition to resist ; and, opening a nego- 
tiation with Pepin, he agreed to yield the exarchate 
and the Pentapolis, which the monarch of the 
Franks had pledged himself to reannex to the terri- 
tories of Rome. Forty distinguished hostages were 
given to ensure the performance of the treaty ; and 
Pepin retired from Italy, satisfied that he had com- 
pelled the restitution of possessions which had been 
unjustly withheld. 

Perhaps the most important point of discussion 

* The Annals of Eginhard — the authenticity of which has never been 
doubted but by theorists who had some doctrine to maintain opposed to 
the facts which they furnish — never hint that Pepin forcibly confined his 
brother, as subsequent authors have asserted. That writer positively 
states that Carloman remained behind with Viertha his sister-in-law, 
left at Vienne by Pepin on his march. The continuators of Fredigarius 
offer collateral testimony, though they do not mention Carloman, stating 
that Pepin took his way to Lombardy by Vienne. A long history of Car- 
loman's ill usage and death has been put forth by various authors, which 
is much more akin to fable than to fact, and is in no degree upheld by that 
only. certain support, contemporary authority, which uniformly repre- 
sents the disease of which Carloman died as a fever. 
t t Chron. Fred i gar. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 83 

in the history of the middle ages is now before us, 
and one in regard to which a greater variety of dif- 
ferent opinions has been offered and maintained 
than any other question has elicited. The formal 
and distinct connexion of the exarchate of Ravenna 
and the territories of the Pentapolis with the Roman 
domains forms the basis of the temporal throne of 
the popes, and consequently has been a subject 
of warm contestation in all i f s parts, between the 
friends and the enemies of the Romish church. 

It is neither necessary nor fitting here to state 
even the most prominent of the many conclusions 
to which authors have come upon this question : nor 
to endeavour to refute errors or correct mistakes 
further than by a simple statement of the ascertained 
facts, and a few deductions from them. 

When Italy threw off the dominion of the empe- 
rors of the East, its language was more submissive 
than its actions ; and the authority of the empire 
was acknowledged long after its aims were resisted, 
and its power was at an end. As some iort of gov- 
ernment, however, was absolutely necessary, the 
Romans, as I have already stated, recalled many of 
the forms of the old republic,* and though tacitly 
submitting to their popes, or bishops, who led, coun- 
selled, and protected them, they still, as a senate and 
people, named their own governors, and intrusted 
that portion of their freedom which they were 
obliged to sacrifice for defence to whomsoever their 
own wisdom or necessities might dictate. f The 

* See all thehir: viansand Mialists of that age, collected by Muratori. 
Each ill turn speaks of the senate and people of Rome. 

t The popes, though possessing great influence with the people of 
Rome, — sufficient lostopihe payment of tribute to the emperors, — never 
pretended to independent sovereignty till a much later period. Anasta- 
sius himself, though most anxious to magnify the papal power, declares 
that Gregory II. prevented the Roman people from violating the faith and 
duty they owed to the emperor; and long after the virtual separa'h: 1 . of 
Italy from the dominion of Constantinople, the popes continued to date 
their letters in the year and reign of the monarchs whose spiritual 
authority they had cast off" Anastasius also shows that Stephen applied 



84 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

office of exarch, which had been instituted by the 
emperors for the government of their Italian prov- 
inces, was still continued by the Roman people as 
a means of obtaining protection ; and the persons 
who filled it were by them elected under the names, 
which had become synonymous, of exarch or 
patrician.* 

By fraud or violence, and probably by both, the 
Lombards, who had first armed in defence of the 
Romans against the emperors, took possession of 
Ravenna and its dependencies ;f but the popes 
never ceased to claim that territory, originally in 
behalf of the Roman people, and ultimately in the 
name of the Roman church. 

The rulers of the Franks, beginning with Charles 
Martel, had been successively elected by the senate 
and people of Rome to the post of patrician,;}; or 
exarch ; and, consequently, were bound, by the fact 
of accepting that office, to maintain the integrity of 
the Roman territory. Pepin, therefore, in his ex- 
pedition against Astolphus, was only fulfilling one 
of the duties of the exarchonate, and reannexed the 
recovered tract to the rest of the appendages of 
Rome, rather as an act of restitution, than of do- 
nation. As the separation of Italy from the em- 
pire of the East had originated in an ecclesiastical 
dispute, the interests of the state became identified 
with that of the church. Gradually, in after ages, 
the popes acquired the supreme power over the 
whole territory ; and, anxious to find a title of more 
weight than mere possession, they assumed that the 
act of Pepin was the gift of a province, conquered 

to the Emperor Constantine V. in the first place, before he solicited the 
aid of Pepin. The whole question is keenly discussed in the historical 
dissertation of Le Blanc, who, with a touch of party prejudice, combines 
considerable vigour of intellect and depth of research. 

* Ducange, Glossary ; Muratori Annali. 

tPaulus Diaconus; Anastasius, in Vit. Stephan. III. 

t Codex Carolinus ; Liber Pontif.; Epit. Chron. Casinensium; Chron. 
Fredigar. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 85 

by the Frankish king, directly bestowed upon the 
see of Rome, rather than a successful campaign of 
the exarch for the recovery of a province belonging 
to the republic* They afterward attempted to 
support this pretence by a supposititious donationf 
of a part at least of the same district by Constan- 
tine ; and the pontiffs, in their letters, alluded more 
and more strongly, as the progress of years ob- 
scured the memory of realities, to fictitious rights 
which fictitious gifts had created. 

Whatever was the nature of Pepin's restoration of 
the exarchate and Pentapolis, the terms in which it 
was expressed were verbal ; and even in the famous 
letter of Pope Adrian to Charlemagne,! wherein 
he boldly declares the donation of Constantine, 
which was supposed to have taken place in remote 
and indistinct times, he touches most tenderly upon 
those after gifts of the same territory which were 
subject to immediate examination and refutation. 

Individual ambition continually defeats its purpose, 
by hurrying too rapidly towards its object ; but a 
number of men, in long succession, conducting a 

*This course of policy was easily pursued. The popes were so much 
in the habit of speaking in the name of Saint Peter, and mingling the 
apostle with all matters, whether spiritual or temporal, that the claims 
they gradually established in his name passed at first tor the mere figura- 
tive language of the pontifical style. Thus, even Stephen the Second, 
soon after the victories of Pepin, writes of Desiderius, — Pollicitus est, 
restitue itdum Beato Pelro civitates, &c — Codex Carol. Epist. viii. Simi- 
lar expressions are to be found long before, and no proof is thence to 
be derived that Pepin actually bestowed any territory upon the church, 
in opposition to the distinct fact of Charlemagne having practically de- 
nied such a gift, by there exercising the supreme power as patrician 
even before he was acknowledged as emperor. The only direct authority 
to establish a gift to the church on the part of Pepin is that of Anas- 
tasius, the papal scribe, who wrote after the claim had been made, and 
when refutation was difficult ; but the assertion of a party writer (even 
were not the archives of Rome notorious for fabrication) cannot be put 
in opposition to a long series of indisputable facts ; and it can be easily 
proved that Arfastasius was incorrect in many of his statements, 
especially concerning the restoration of the cities by Astolpnus, by 
comparing his account with the letters of the popes. Besides, if Pepin 
had given the territories, how came Charlemagne to give them over 
again. 

t Codex Carolinus, Epist. 49. % Ibid. 

H 






86 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

permanent establishment, in which their own per- 
sonal interests are entirely merged, often acquire a 
fearful superiority to those around them, by the calm 
regularity of their progress in advance, and the pas- 
sionless caution by which they secure each advan- 
tage as it is obtained. The march of the papal power 
was slow and gradual. The exarchate was rean- 
nexed to Rome ; the pontiffs subsequently chose 
to believe it bestowed upon the church,* and on that 
hypothesis founded their temporal dominion, while, 
by similar means, they extended the limits of their 
spiritual authority. Nevertheless, events, which 
will soon come under review, will show that the 
monarchs of the Franks looked upon the whole 
transaction in a different light, and considered all 
the temporal, and part even of the ecclesiastical,! 
power in the provinces which they had restored to 
Rome, as still vested in themselves in their quality 
of patrician, or exarch. J 

Although the youth of the Frankish nation were 
often permitted to bear arms at a very early period 
of life, it does not appear whether Charlemagne did 
or did not accompany his father in the first expedi- 
tion against the Lombards. Several years follow, 
in the records of that period, without mention of the 
future monarch. During that lapse of time, Pepin 
again invaded Lombardy,§ in order to enforce the 

*The Liber Pontificalis, which positively mentions the donation of 
the exarchate, is decidedly an authority of less value than the Codex 
Carolinus, inasmuch as the former was preserved in the libraries of the 
popes alone, where every sort of corrupt interpolation was practicable, 
and practised. 

fPaulus Diaconus. 

4: It would seem that the Emperor Constantine entertained some hope 
of inducing Pepin to restore to the Eastern empire the territories he 
wrested from the Lombards in Italy, and that he sent ambassadors for 
that purpose to France, bearing various presents, among which an organ 
is specified.— Fredigar. Contin. 

§1 have been purposely as brief as possible on all those details, which, 
though necessarily connected with my subject, do not absolutely form 
part of the history of Charlemagne. It may be proper to state, however, 
that the pope solicited the second expedition of Pepin, by several vehe 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 87 

execution of the treaty which Astolphus had entered 
into the year before, and which he had unscrupu- 
lously broken, as soon as the sword of the Frank 
was withdrawn from his throat. The Lombard king 
was again driven to submission, and forced to begin 
the restitution which was demanded ; but he did not 
live to complete it ; and after his death, which took 
place in consequence of a fall from his horse, Desi- 
derius, who had commanded a part of his troops, 
was elected King of the Lombards, by the influence 
and support both of Pepin and the pope,* — a sub- 
ject of which I must necessarily speak more here- 
after. 

In the mean time, Charlemagne continued to 
advance towards manhood. Successive wars, the 
fruits of a barbarous and unsettled state of society, 
where rights were undetermined, and law was in its 
infancy, afforded a continual school for the acquisi- 
tion of that military knowledge and that corporeal 
strength which, in those times, supplied the place of 
science in government, and talent in command. 
Early taught by his father all that was then known 
of warfare as an art, Charlemagne had but too fre- 
quent opportunities of gaining practical experience. 
It is more than probable, from the known habits of 
his nation, that he accompanied his father in most 
of his campaigns ; but the first occasion on which 
he is decidedly stated by the chronicles to have fol- 
lowed the king to any of the many military expedi- 



ment epistles, filled with a barbarous sort of eloquence, the fruit of 
anger and fear (Codex Carolinus, Epist. iii iv.). In one of these epistles 
he boldly assumes the voice of the Apostle Peter; and, with the strange 
mixture of heavenly and earthly language which this impersonification 
naturally produced, he exhorts Pepin, Charles, and Carloman to arm in 
defence of Rome. The apostle addresses his letter to the sovereign of 
the Franks, and his two sons, " tribus resibvs ;" hut he does not style 
them patricians, though the follcwin<: letter, it) which Stephen speaks in 
his own person, contains that appellation. I have attempted to prove, in 
an after note, that the popes themselves considered the interference of 
the Frankish monarch merely as their duty as exarchs. 
* Muratori, Rer. Script. Ital. vol. ii. iii. 



88 HISTORY OP CHARLEMAGNE. 

tions which consumed the reign and the talents of 
Pepin, was on the renewal of the war with Waifar, 
Duke of Aquitaine,* whose ambitious turbulence 
neither clemency could calm nor punishment re- 
press. 

This struggle with the Dukes of Aquitaine, which 
continued with greater or less activity during two 
hundred years, is. worthy of some attention. At 
that time, as already remarked, the right of succes- 
sion was, in most cases, vague and undefined, and 
in none more so than in the transmission of the 
crown. Indeed, there are many reasons for be- 
lieving that the chiefs of the Franks were originally 
elective,! as was the case also with the Lombards,| 
and that the royal office became hereditary by the 
progress of gradual innovation and customary sub- 
mission. However this might be, it seems clear 
that the Dukes of Aquitaine had some immediate 
connexion with the Merovingian kings of France, 
and some collateral claim upon the throne itself, — 
the existence of which claim and connexion, has 
caused much greater disputes among the antiqua- 
ries of modern times^ than it did among the princes 
of their own day. 

It does not appear, in any degree, that this title 
was put forth, or considered of consequence, in the 
times to which this book refers. Pepin was seated 
safely on the throne; the Dukes of Aquitaine are 
never found to have disputed his right: and their 
consanguinity with the Merovingian kings would be 
unworthy attention, were it not necessary to show 
that they stood in a different relationship to the 
French monarchs from the other dukes or govern- 
ors of provinces, and claimed the territory they pos- 

* Ann. Eginhard, A. D. 761. 

t Fredigariani Chron. ; Annates Bertiniani. ; Eginhard, in Vit. Carl. 
Magn. 

% See Muratori, Dissertat. ; Giannone, Storia Civile ; Paulus Diaco- 
nus, &c. 

§ Vaissette, Hist, de Languedoc ; La Bruere, Gaillard, &c. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 89 

sessed, not indeed as independent sovereigns, but 
as hereditary, though subordinate, princes, holding 
their feoff, — or beneficium, as it was called under some 
circumstances, — not by the will of the reigning mon- 
arch, but in right of clear descent. 

On various occasions, the Merovingian kings 
themselves endeavoured to restrict the power of 
the Dukes of Aquitaine to the same limits as that 
enjoyed by the simple governors of a province ; and 
the charter of Charles the Bald expressly states, 
many years afterward, that they only possessed 
the duchy of Aquitaine in the name of the kings of 
France.* Nevertheless, it is beyond doubt that 
Dagobert, to end the continual claims of the chil- 
dren of his brother Charibert, granted to his ne- 
phews the whole of Aquitaine as 'd perpetual lordship, 
on condition of tribute and homage ; which is the 
first clear instance of a direct hereditary feoff.* 
Standing thus in a position totally different from 
that of any other of the French nobles of the time, 
the Dukes of Aquitaine were continually trying the 
new and unascertained power which they held, 
against the monarchs by whom it had been con- 
ceded, and still more frequently against the maires 
of the palace, who afterward governed in their 
name.f 

In the time of Charles Martel, Eudes, Duke of 
Aquitaine, was constantly in revolt, J whatever 
phantom king shadowed the Merovingian throne; 
and all the moderation of the hero of that age 
could never bind the turbulent prince to his alli- 
ance, nor all the exercise of his tremendous power, 

* Aquitanice ducatu pofiti sunt, nomine tamen Francorum regum. 

t 1 have adopted ihe opinion of Dom. Vaissette, in the greater part of 
this digression ; though it must be remarked, that the fact of Charibert 
having had any children except Chilpenc, who was killed in infancy, 
rests on one authority alone,— that of the charter of Alaon. M. Gaillard, 
however, is mistaken in representing the concession, of Dagobert in the 
light of what is called an apanage. 

1 Chron. Fredigariam. 

H2 



90 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

awe him to obedience and to peace. Continually 
defeated, Eudes still rose from his temporary sub- 
mission, and, the moment that the presence of his 
conqueror was removed, allied himself to any one 
who would aid him in the breach of those promises 
and treaties which fear and necessity had alone ex- 
torted. Charles, on the contrary, still triumphed 
and forgave ;* and, although the Duke of Aquitaine 
had even leagued with the Saracens, at once the 
enemies of his faith and his country, their defeat 
was followed by his pardon. 

After the death of Eudes, the same turbulent 
spirit descended with the inheritance ; and, though 
the territories he left were divided between his three 
sons, the rulers of the French found that the enmity 
of the Dukes of Aquitaine was transmitted entire. 
Hunald, who, as eldest of the three, had received 
Aquitaine for his portion, was soon forced to submit, 
by Charles Martel, and did homage, not to the kings 
of France, but to the maire of the palace. Yet the 
spirit of revolt subsisted still ; and no sooner had 
death unnerved the hand of the victor, than Hunald 
was once more in arms, plundering the provinces 
of Pepin and Carloman.j Again subdued the cour- 
age of the duke sank. Remorse for having blinded 
his brother Hatton operated, together with su- 
perstition and disappointment, to give him a tem- 
porary disgust to the world ; and, resigning his ter- 



* Chron. Fredigariani. The hyperbolical account of these transactions, 
given by Anastasius and Paul Warnfred, both of whom wrote a century 
after the events, cannot be put in opposition to the Fredigarian Chronicle, 
a contemporary record, compiled under the t,es of the French princes 
themselves. The assertion of Fredigarius, that the Saracens were called 
into France by the vengeance of Eudes, is positive and direct ; and we 
have no contemporary proof to the contrary. The historian was living at 
the time, and chronicled the events as they were then known to have 
occurred. Thus, though we find continual errors in that part of the 
Fredigarian Chronicle which refers to periods anterior to that of the 
author himself, yet from A. D. 600 to 641, his manuscript is the most 
valuable record we possess concerning the history of France. 

t Chron. Fredigar. continuat. ; Annal. Eginhard, ann. 742. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 91 

ritories to his son Waifar, he retired into the 
cloister.* 

No greater degree of tranquillity accrued to 
France from this change in the government of 
Aquitaine ; for Waifar proved still more rebellious 
and turbulent than his predecessor ; and Pepin had 
soon to take arms, in order to put an end to his in- 
cursions. Several of these expeditions against 
Aquitaine are mentioned in the chronicle of the 
time ; but that in which Charlemagne first appears 
in a military character is marked as having been 
preceded by two years of peace, — an extraordinary 
duration of tranquillity in times when the sceptre 
ever implied the sword.f 

The nominal cause of warfare on the present 
occasion was the plunder of church property by 
Waifar; and, on the approach of Pepin, the duke 
promised immediate restitution, at the same time 
giving hostages for his future conduct. In those 
days, falsehood seems to have been sufficiently 
frequent to teach caution to the most unsuspecting; 
yet credulity— always a quality of an infant state 
of society — was carried to a very extraordinary 
height. Pepin, after having been repeatedly de- 
ceived, again trusted his rebellious subject ; and 
Waifar, who, by his apparent submission, had alone 
sought to gain time for preparation, forgot his prom- 
ises as soon as he could collect ar nrmy, threw 
off his allegiance, and, adding outrage to revolt, 
advanced into the territories of France, ravaging 
the country with fire and sword. 

But the vengeance of the monarch was prompt 
and powerful. Accompanied by his eldest son, 
Pepin took the field, entered Aquitaine at the head 
of immense forces, and, with rapidity almost in- 
credible,! subdued the whole province, from Au- 

* Vit. S. Bertharii. ; Duchesne, vol. ii. 

t Chron. Fredigar. continuat. 

X Eg in hard, Aonal. ; Chron. Fredigar. continuat. 



92 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

vergne to Limoges. Here Charlemagne had one 
of those examples of grand and extraordinary cele- 
rity in the movement of immense armies, which he 
afterward so often practised himself with magnifi- 
cent success. In the course of a very few weeks, 
many hundred miles of an enemy's territory were 
conquered. Speed set preparation at defiance, and 
surprise changed resistance into terror. In this, as 
in almost all other wars, the people were made the 
expiatory sacrifice, to atone for the faults of their 
rulers. Blood and flame wrapped one of the finest 
districts in France,* and ruin and destruction marked 
the consequences of the vassal's revolt, and the 
vengeance of the sovereign. 

During four years Pepin pursued the war against 
Aquitaine, displaying many instances of extreme 
clemency and extreme rigour, the causes of which 
dissimilarity of conduct at different times must re- 
main in darkness, as the chronicles of that age do 
not explain the motives, and the historians of after- 
years have only substituted hypotheses for facts. 
The greater part of the revolted country at length 
submitted, and Remistan, the uncle of Waifar, him- 
self joined the party of the king, and bound himself, 
by the most solemn oaths,f to aid the monarch as a 
vassal and a friend. His engagements, though vol- 
untary, were as frail as those of the rest of his fam- 
ily ; and but a short time elapsed before he was 
again in arms against the sovereign who had trusted 
him, pursuing his designs with all the acrimonious 
virulence of conscious treachery. 

The territory of Limoges and Bourges, where 
Pepin had built himself a palace, and established 
his residence, was ravaged by the orders of this 
faithless ally ; and, not content with simple ag- 
gression, Remistan had the criminal boldness to 
appear, with hostile purposes, within sight of the 

* Eginhard, Annales, ann. 761. 

t Cfiron. Fredigariani, continual, cap. 128. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 93 

monarch he had insulted, and the friend he had be- 
trayed. 

The fate he courted soon overtook him. Not 
long after he had presented himself before Bourges, 
he was taken in an ambush laid by some of the offi- 
cers of the king, and was brought bound into the 
royal presence. 

The character of Pepin might doubtless have de- 
rived a fictitious air of magnanimity in the eyes of 
after-ages from a display of clemency on this occa- 
sion ; but it can hardly be denied, that mercy to Re- 
mistan, after the gross treachery he had committed, 
and the blood he had caused to flow, would have 
been any thing but mercy to the rest of France. 

The justice of his execution, which has been de- 
nied, depended upon whether he maintained rights 
as an independent monarch, and was a conquered 
king, rather than an arrested subject. The fact, 
however, is clear, that, whatever were his original 
claims to royalty, his ancestors had renounced them 
in a thousand instances ; and also that, whatever 
force had been used to compel that renunciation on 
their part, he himself had acknowledged voluntarily 
the sovereignty of Pepin, and had actually served 
him as his liegeman. Unless, therefore, rights are 
to be looked upon as mere matters of caprice, and 
obedience to an established government is to be 
granted and withdrawn at the pleasure of each in- 
dividual, Remistan was in reality the treacherous 
and revolted vassal of the French king ; and, while 
his pardon would have been an act of folly, his 
punishment was but a deed of justice.* 

No clemency was shown : Remistan was instantly 
condemned and hung; and the war of Aquitaine 
was soon after terminated for the time by the death 
of Waifar, who appears to have been slain by the 

* Monsieur Gaillard has given so different an account of the war in 
Aquitaine from that furnished by contemporary history, that I can hardly 
believe he had read the continuation of Fredigarius. 



94 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

hands of his attendants, probably instigated by Pepin 
himself. On this point, it is true, we have no cer- 
tain information, the only passage in the ancient* 
chronicles which hints at the agency of the French 
monarch in the death of his rebellious vassal, leaving 
the matter still as a doubtful report. Such means 
of destroying an enemy were but too common at 
that period ; and though the frequency of the fact 
can in no degree be brought forward to justify or 
even palliate a great moral offence, it at all events 
gives more probability to the rumour of its having 
been committed. 

Pepin had many motives for seeking to bring the 
war in Aquitaine to as speedy a conclusion as pos- 
sible, among which was the defection of Tassilo 
Duke of Bavaria, who, but a short time before, had 
sworn allegiance to him, and acknowledged himself 
in the most solemn manner a vassal of the crown of 
Franc e.f 

The precise duties which he took upon himself by 
this oath and acknowledgment we do not discover; 
nor is it easy to distinguish what was the distinction 
at that time between this higher class of vassals, 
and the inferior nobles more immediately within the 
jurisdiction of the monarch. 

The feudal system, the seeds of which had been 
long sown, was beginning to rise in different direc- 
tions ; but was far from possessing that great and 
extraordinary form which it afterward assumed. 

* Chron. Fredigar. continuat. cap. cxxxv. 

t The annals of St. Bertimis, which copy and confirm those of Egin- 
hard, mention this fact as follows:— " lbique Tassilo venit, Dux Bajoa- 
riorum, in vassatico se commendans, per manus. Sacramenta juravit 
multa, et innumerabilia, reliquiis Sanctorum Mariyrum manus imponens: 
et fidelitatem promisit Regi Pippino, et supradictis filiis ejus, domino 
■Catolo et .Carlomanno, sicut vassus recta inente et firma devotione per 
juslitiam domino suo esse deberet * * * Sic et ejus homines major es 
natu, qui erant cum eo, firmaverunt, sicut dictum est, in locis superius 
nominatis et in aliis mtiltis." — Ann. Bertinian. ami. 757. 

By this it will be seen, that, not only the vassal himself, but what in 
an after-age would have been called his vavasours, or sub-vassals, took 
the oaths of allegiance, and did homage to Pepin and his sons. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 95 

Each particular age in the world's history brings 
forth the peculiar institution suited to the character 
of society at the time ; but it does so slowly and by 
degrees, as necessity prompts the desire of altera- 
tion and experience presents the mode. No sudden 
and general changes have ever been attended with 
permanent success ; for although, by reiterated ex- 
periment, and the accumulated experience of many, 
it is impossible to say what degree of perfection 
may be ultimately reached, it would seem that the 
mind of man is incapable of conceiving at once any 
great and universal system. Each age may im- 
prove upon the last ; and each individual epoch 
may produce and perfect the scheme of society 
necessary for itself, — at once the consequence of its 
existence and the type of its character. But still 
the creation of great institutions is like the sculp- 
ture of a statue, and a thousand slight blows from 
Time's chisel are required to change the marble 
ruggedness of the mass into the perfect and harmo- 
nious form. 

At the time of which I now speak, the feudal 
system, the chief institution of the middle ages, was 
yet in its first rudeness, and a number of accidental 
circumstances were still required to give it consist- 
ency, solidity, and extent. It is impossible, and 
would be of little use, to trace all the events which 
contributed to that effect. The revolt and subjec- 
tion of vassals — the power of some monarchs, and 
the weakness of others — the rights of different or- 
ders, mutually wrung from each other — and the im- 
perative necessity of some fixed barrier, however 
frail, between the claims of various classes, — gradu- 
ally produced a state of society fitted to those times, 
and those times alone. 

Among these causes were such insurrections as 
those of Waifar and of Tassilo. But though Pepin 
succeeded in subduing the former, and in annexing 
almost the whole of Aquitaine to the crown, the 



96 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

complete subjection of the dukedom of Bavaria was 
reserved for his successor. 

On his return from his last and most successful 
expedition against Waifar, the monarch of the 
Franks was seized with a low fever at Saintes, 
which preyed severely upon a constitution shaken 
by mighty cares and never-ceasing activity. His 
first resource under the depression of sickness was 
an humble petition for aid at the shrine of St. Martin 
of Tours, which had been rendered famous as a place 
of marvellous cure, by the folly and ignorance of 
the age, and the impudence and talent of its pre- 
lates. But the malady of the king was not one of 
those in which mental medicine can prove effica- 
cious ; and, however great might be his faith or 
superstition, Pepin returned weaker and nearer to 
death than he went. He then proceeded to Paris ; 
and took up his abode in the monastery of St. Denis, 
where his sickness each day advanced more and 
more rapidly. At length, the period came when the 
approach of death forced itself upon his conviction ; 
and after having, with the consent of the principal 
men of the kingdom,* divided his whole dominions 
between his two sons, Charles (afterward called 
Charlemagne) and Carloman the younger,f he died 
at the age of fifty-three. 

Between Pepin and his father, Charles Martel, 
there existed a strong point of resemblance in their 
excessive promptitude of resolution, and their won- 
derful rapidity of execution, which qualities com- 
bined formed the great secret of their power and 
their success. In other respects they differed from 
each other essentially. Charles Martel, despising 
the superstition of the day, oppressed the church ; 
and, contented with his own power, contemned and 
circumscribed that of the nobility. Pepin, on the 
contrary, with greater ambition and greater piety, 

* Fredigar. Chron. continuat. cap. cxxxvi. 
t Annates Eginhard. Sept. A. D. 708. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 97 

courted both the clergy and the nobles ; and easily 
did away the phantom king - , under the shadow of 
whose name Charles Martel had been satisfied to 
rule severely the other orders of the state. 

Charles Martel left to his sons the regal power. 
Pepin transmitted to his children both the power 
and the name, — which is in all ages a great addi- 
tion. As in war, an earthen mound, which an in- 
fant could crawl over with ease while unopposed, 
becomes, when defended, an important post ; so in 
policy a mere title, which, abstractedly considered, 
is but air, very ofte iA becomes, in Lie struggle of 
contending parties, a mighty barrier and a strong 
defence. 

In assuming the hereditary title of his Merovin- 
gian predecessors, however, Pepin unfortunately 
adopted also their system of dividing the succes- 
sion — a system which had distracted the dominion 
of their race, and proved the destruction of his 
own.* 

* In the end of the reign of Pepin the Brief, the period of the g»*eat 
military assembly of the nation was changed from March to May, in 
order that forage might be more easily procured for the horses, as the 
Carlovingians had endeavoured, with much success, to increase the 
cavalry of the Franks, which gave them the opportunity of acting with 
greater rapidity. 

1 wish also to notice here, though somewhat out of place, a passage 
of Fredigarius, which never struck me forcibly till this book was passing 
through the press, but which tends strongly to prove that the mai^e of 
the palace, at a very early period, possessed much greater power than 
has generally been supposed, — that he was, in fact, in the provinces, 
what the popes style him in their various epistles, Subregulus ; and 
that the people had a potent voice in his appointment. The passage 
refers to the reign of Clotaire, called the Great, at the year 626; and it is 
important to observe, that it was written by Fredigarius himself,— not by 
his continuators, — that it referred to his own times, and to that particular 
district of France of which he was a native. It may be rendered as 
follows : — " This year Clotaire called together at Troyes the great men 
and leudes of Burgundy, and asked them if they wished to create another 
maireof the palace, in place of Warnacharius, who was dead. But they 
generally refused, saying that they would never elect another rnaire of 
the palace, and begging earnestly of the king the favour of communicating 
with himself alone." 



98 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 



BOOK II. 

FROM THE ACCESSION OF CHARLEMAGNE AND HIS BROTHER, 
TO THE DEATH OF CARLOMAN AND THE REUNION OF THE 
KINGDOM. 

FROM A. D. 768 TO A. D. 771. 

The Accession of Charlemagne and his Brother— The Extent of their Do- 
minion — The Territories beyond the Rhine— The Nature of the Parti- 
tion between theMonarchs — Doubtful Sovereignty and Revolt of Aqui- 
taine — Its rapid Conquest by Charlemagne — Disunion between the 
Broi hers— Events in Italy— Negotiations of Bertha — Charlemagne's 
first Marriage to the Daughter of the King of Lombardy— His Divorce 
— His second Marriage— The Enmity of Desiderius — The Death of 
Hunald— Of Carloman — The Widow of Carloman flies to Desiderius — 
The Nobles of Carloman elect Charlemagne— Reunion of the Monarchy. 

The two sons of Pepin, — Charles, known in mod- 
ern history by the name of Charlemagne, by which 
title I shail in future designate him, and Carloman, 
his younger brother, — succeeded at the death of 
their father to one of the most fertile, the most ex- 
tensive, and the most powerful kingdoms which 
Europe has beheld since the fall of the Roman em- 
pire. The Pyrenees, the Alps, the Mediterranean, 
and the ocean were boundaries supplied by nature 
to defend it from aggression and to limit its extent ; 
and the Rhine seemed intended for the same pur- 
pose by the same beneficent disposer. But rivers, 
however large, are ever very feeble and inefficient 
barriers between nations; and continual struggles 
had taken place upon the German frontier of France, 
from the period of the first establishment of the 
Frankish dominion in ancient Gaul, to the acces- 
sion of the Carlovingian race, the consequences of 
which struggles affected the whole reign of Charle- 
magne. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 99 

Without attempting to trace the progress of ag- 
gression on either side, and without joining in the 
censure often cast upon the barbarian tribes, for pur- 
suing that system of migration which nature her- 
self dictated, and for giving way to that thirst of 
conquest which was the first motive in their advance 
towards civilization, I must touch briefly on the 
causes which, during so long a period of the middle 
ages, rendered the north-eastern limit of France the 
scene and subject of incessant contention. 

The spirit of predatory migration affected the 
whole people of the north of Europe from the mo- 
ment that the population became so general and so 
dense, in relation to the means of support, as to re- 
quire a relief and force an outlet. The first impulse 
might be given by some accidental circumstance, 
unconnected with any regular design of seeking 
more abundant fields, or more extensive hunting 
grounds. It might be afforded by the vagabond 
habits of the Scythian herdsmen, who peopled a 
great part of the north, and by their pressure upon 
the more settled nations, whom they either infected 
with their own desire of wandering, or drove forth 
by their superior power. 

However that may be, it is not necessary to ex- 
amine the remote and difficult question of national 
origins,* in order to discover among the various 
tribes who quitted the north to conquer and plunder 
the more civilized and enfeebled parts of Europe, 
two very distinct modifications in their principles 
of action, which led to great and important results. 
Some of these nations, whether they derived such 
a peculiar character from their native stock, or from 
some fortuitous circumstance, passed rapidly from 
country to country, contenting themselves with 

* Those feelingan interest in such intricate but important discussions 
are already, in all probability, well acquainted with the learned and in- 
genious theory of Sharon Turner (Hist, of the Auulo-Saxons, vol. i.), 
and the equally learned, but more hypothetical works of the Count de 
lia&t (Histoire Ancienne das Peoples do l' Europe). 



100 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

pillage, rapine, and destruction ; sometimes return- 
ing to their own country after a successful expedi- 
tion ; sometimes proceeding to ravage some other 
land ; but never dreaming of settling themselves 
anywhere, till centuries of roaming had obliterated 
the first character of their savage state, and gradu- 
ally blended with them different races of a milder 
blood. 

Other tribes again, whether driven from their na- 
tive habitation by strife with a superior power, or 
actuated by the general spirit of migration, seemed 
still to covet some fixed abode ; and though often 
forced by circumstances to change from place to 
place, showed at each step the same inclination to 
settle, like a swarm of bees, which congregate upon 
a thousand various points before they find a spot 
where they can hive at last. 

The first-mentioned class of invaders appear to 
have been animated in their expeditions by the 
desire of moveable plunder alone ; the second class 
seemed to have acquired the more refined idea of 
territorial acquisition : + hough both were at the same 
time inspired by the spirit of conquest, the first 
great passion of a savage people. 

Of those who seem more or less to have felt the 
wish for permanent establishment, the Goths, the 
Burgundians, the Lombards, and the Franks were 
the principal. The Franks fixed their dominion in 
the last portion of that civilized and fertile territory, 
towards which the stream of barbarian invasion was 
continually tending. The same desires which had 
led them forth still animated the nations they had 
left behind ; and on taking possession of the Roman 
dominions in Gaul, they had to turn upon those who 
followed in the very same path by which they had 
entered, and to defend what they themselves had 
wrung from the Romans against the tribes of kin- 
dred* plunderers which trod upon their steps. 

* Dr. Percy has established, almost to a certainty, that the Franks and 
Saxons were but branches springing from ihe same original root. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 101 

Thus the German frontier became a scene of in- 
cessant strife ; but the Franks were a young and 
warlike people, mighty in adolescent energies, and 
tremendous in indefatigable activity. Far from con- 
tenting themselves with the barrier of the Rhine, the 
desire of conquest, which had made them masters 
of Gaul, led them to strive for dominions beyond 
the natural limits of the land they had obtained; 
and in their struggles against the nations which fol- 
lowed — with forces concentrated for one great ob- 
ject, and with regularity of government ensuring 
stability of purpose — though sometimes defeated, 
and often repelled, they restrained the barbarians 
with whom they had to contend, and retained as 
well as acquired extensive territories on the farther 
bank of the Rhine. The boundaries of these terri- 
tories were, from the very manner in which they 
were held, vague, uncertain, and varying from day 
to day, so that it is now impossible to draw with 
any precision the line of frontier which in this direc- 
tion separated France from the uncultivated tribes 
of the north at the epoch of the death of Pepin, 
and the accession of his sons. 

The provinces beyond the Rhine, however, were 
considerable ; and together with the rest of the 
Frankish possessions formed the most extensive, as 
well as most powerful, of the European monarchies. 
This descended without dispute to Charles and Car- 
lo man; but several circumstances accompanied the 
transmission of the supreme power to their hands 
which are worthy of notice. I have before had 
occasion to point out the uncertain character of the 
succession to the crown of France during the domi- 
nation of the first race ; nor is it very easy to dis- 
cover any universal principle by which this import- 
ant point was regulated. The will of the dying 
monarch* seems, to have been of some effect in the 

* Chron. Fredigar. 
12 



102 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

allotment of his dominions among - his children ; but 
the general assembly of the nation was always 
called upon to confirm or explain the dispositions of 
the former king.* 

It is difficult also to conceive the permanent unity 
of the people as a nation, while the territory was 
divided between two or more monarchs ; and the 
only means we have of accounting for the long ex- 
istence of such a state of things, is to look back to 
the original constitution of the Franks as a German 
tribe, and to remember that, in that day, nations, not 
countries, formed the true divisions of mankind. 
This was a natural consequence of the migratory 
habits of the northern hordes, who, having no fixed 
habitation during many years, were long before they 
suffered the spirit of national union to deviate in any 
degree into local attachment. 

The French, therefore, remained one people, how- 
ever the state might be divided, or the country 
allotted ; and the inheritance which Pepin trans- 
mitted to his sons was not a united rule over the 
whole, but the government of a certain portion of 
the nation, and the possession of a certain portion 
of territory, severally assigned to each, while the 
general coherence of the Franks, as a people, re- 
mained unbroken. 

The exact division of the country which took 
place upon the death of the great overthrower of 
the Merovingian race is involved in much obscurity ; 
for the two best authorities of the time are in direct 
opposition to each other. Eginhard, the friend and 
servant of Charlemagne, assigns to him that portion 

* Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magn. The preservation of the popular 
rights in the succession of the early kings of France is strongly evinced 
in several parts of the Life of Charlemagne by Eginhard. The very 
opening words of his book afford one example. And afterward, speak- 
ing of Charles and Carloman, he says, "Franci siquidem, facto solen- 
niter generali conventu, ambos sibi reges constituunt," &c. 

I shall mark from time to time, as I proceed, the different instances in 
■which this right was recognised, even after the accession of Charle- 
magne. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 103 

of France called Neustria,* with its usual depend- 
encies ; while the continuators of Fredigarius give 
him Austrasia, declaring Neustria to have been the 
portion of Carloman. The latter prince, however, 
according to both accounts, was crowned at Soissons, 
which was sometimes included in the kingdom of 
Austrasia ; and Charles was, on the same day,f in- 
augurated at Noyou, which always formed apart of 
Neustria.}: 

The question in regard to these two provinces is 
indeed of little moment; as the difficulty is only an 
historical doubt of the present day, concerning a 
point which, notwithstanding the discrepancy of 
contemporary statements, seems to have been per- 
fectly clear in those times, and gave rise to no con- 
sequences of any import. Charlemagne and his 
brother appear to have been perfectly satisfied with 
the division of the northern part of France, and 
each took possession of his own ; but the sove- 
reignty of Aquitaine, reunited to the crown by the 
arms of Pepin, proved a cause of doubt and dis- 
agreement between the two princes, which might 
have ended in open warfare, had not the early death 
of the younger intervened. On this subject also the 
Fredigarian Chronicle and the account of Eginhard 
are totally at variance. The first declares that 
Pepin, in dying, divided Aquitaine between his sons ; 
but Eginhard positively states that that province 
was attached to the portion of Charlemagne. In all 
probability the matter was left in doubt, both by 
Pepin and the national assembly ; but even a doubt 
where equal partition was regarded as a right very 

* The extent of these two divisions of France varied in almost every 
different reign. Neustria, however, or the western part of France, in 
general, comprised the whole country from the mouth of the Scheldt to 
the source of the Marne and the mouth of the Loire. 

t 9th Oct. A.D. 768. Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magn. ; Annal. Ber- 
tinian.; Chron. Fredigar. 

t This fact seems to decide the matter, especially as the continuator 
of Fredigarius himself states that the two kings were each crowned in 
the capital of his own kingdom. 



104 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

naturally created coolness and jealousy towards his 
brother in the mind of Carloman, and loosened the 
bonds of kindred affection.* 

The quarrels of those persons in high stations 
between whom Heaven, for their mutual defence 
and support, has established the close ties of blood, 
afford to the interested and ambitious so many 
means of gain or aggrandizement, that there would 
be ever found many to foment them, even were 
vanity, weakness, and malice not continually ready 
in a court to promote hostility, and render disunion 
irreparable. Carloman, apparently a feeble and 
easily-governed prince, found plenty, both of knaves 
and sycophants, in his palace to prompt his anger 
against his brother, and drive him on to acts of un- 
kind ness, if not aggression. Thus their reign be- 
gan in coldness and suspicion ; but peace was still 
maintained by the influence of their mother, Bertha; 
and the insurrection of a part of their dominions 
seemed to furnish a motive for union and for mutual 
support. 

It unfortunately happened, however, that the war, 
to which they were thus called as allies by every 
principle of good policy, had for its site and its 
motives the very territory of Aquitaine which had 
been the cause of their own dissension. Hunald, the 
father of that turbulent and unfortunate prince from 
whom Pepin had wrested, after a nine years' contest, 
both his feoff and his life, no sooner beheld the 
throne of France once more occupied by two young 
and inexperienced monarchs than, encouraged by 
the too evident disunion which existed between them, 
he issued forth from the cloister to which he had 
devoted himself; called Aquitaine to arms ; and, 
working upon the mind of a warlike but inconstant 
people, easily raised an army, and declared his sove- 
reignty and independence. 

* Eginhard, in Vit. Carol! Ma$nl. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 105 

Charlemagne instantly prepared to repress his 
rebellious subjects, and called upon Carloman to aid 
him in his design. Carloman promised his support ; 
and even advanced into Poitou* to confer with his 
brother on the conduct of the war ; but their meeting 
terminated in a manner unsatisfactory to either ; and 
Carloman returned to his own dominions, refusing 
to take any share in the expedition.! In regard to 
his reasons for thus withdrawing the assistance he 
had promised to his brother we have no information ; 
and though it has been supposed that he wished to 
make the partition of Aquitaine the price of his 
support, and retired in resentment on refusal, it is 
better not to venture a conjecture in the utter 
absence of recorded fact. 

His defectionj in the hour of need drew forth at 
once the great and overpowering energies of his 
brother's mind. The revolted duke was at the head 
of a large and increasing army, and was carried on 
by the power of a fresh and hitherto successful 
enthusiasm in a bold, adventurous, and excited 
| ople. The forces of the young monarch, on the 
contrary, were but scanty in number ;§ and, suddenly 
deprived of the aid on which he had confidently 
relied, he was left alone, unknowing alike the extent 
of his own powers, and of the attachment of his 
people, to lead the Franks to the field for the first 
time, against a warlike race and a desperate enemy. 
He paused not, however, for a moment ; but pursued 
his expedition undaunted ; and combining in his own 
person all the military talents of his ancestors, with » 
high qualities entirely his own, he subdued the 
revolted provinces with a celerity of movement, 
and a decision of action, hardly equalled in ancient or 

* The Chronicle of St. Bertinus, and the Annals of Eginhard, say that 
the princes met, " in loco qui dicitur Duasdives," a place at present 
unknown, but generally supposed to have been situated in Poitou. 

t Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magni. { A. D. 769. 

$ Annates Tiliani. 



106 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

in modern times. Notwithstanding the small army* 
which he brought into the field, it would appear 
that the energetic activity of the young monarch 
surprised and terrified his opponent. Ilunald fled 
without fighting ; and, hard pressed by Charlemagne, 
only escaped into Gascony by his superior know- 
ledge of the country, the complicated mazes of whose 
mountains were unknown to those by whom he was 
pursued. The place of refuge which he chose was 
the court of his nephew, Lupo Duke of Gascony, 
who joined in the revolt of Aquitaine, although his 
rebellion had never proceeded to actual warfare 
with the young nionarchs of France. This asylum 
proved any thing but a secure one. The ties of 
blood, indeed, connected the fugitive chief strongly 
with him whose protection he claimed ; but it must 
be remembered, that Hunald, in the day of his 
power, had, in a fit of ambitious jealousy, deprived 
his own brother Hatton, the father of Lupo, of his 
sight. 

In almost all barbarous nations, where law is not 
sufficient for the chastisement of crime and for the 
reparation of wrong, revenge is considered as a 
virtue, and principle gives permanence to what is 
originally but a transitory passion. Lupo at first 
received his uncle with an appearance of hospitality ; 
but Charlemagne, advancing to the banks of the 
Dordogne, sent on messengers to summon his vassal 
the Duke of Gascony f to yield the rebellious sub- 
ject who had taken refuge at his court, and to make 
atonement for his own revolt by instant submission 
and compliance. J Obedience waited the command 
of the king ; and Lupo, notwithstanding the ties of 
kindred and the rights of hospitality, made no 
scruple to deliver up the man who had robbed his 
father of his sight ; thus at once avenging the ancient 

* Ann. Bertinian. ann. 769. 
■^Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni, cap. v. 
t Ibid, Annal. ann. 769, 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 107 

injury of his house, and securing both pardon and 
favour from the young monarch, to whom he at the 
same time acknowledged his homage and depend^ 
ence. 

Clemency was a natural quality in the mind of 
Charlemagne. It seldom if ever deserted him, even 
when age had taken from the first softness of the 
heart ; and, in the whole course of a long life, we 
find few or no instances of cruelty recorded against 
him, while every historian rings with the praises of 
his moderation and gentleness. The single exam- 
ple of great severity which I shall have to notice 
hereafter was the effect of that stern, though 
perhaps necessary, policy from which the mind of 
youth impetuously revolts. But in the present 
instance, young and happy himself — in the posses- 
sion of those physical powers, and that ease of cor- 
poreal sensations which give natural amenity to the 
disposition, and also blessed with that inexperience 
of abused lenity and of unrequited kindness, which 
leaves the heart free to act — cruelty could scarcely 
form a part in the character of Charlemagne. 

No bloodshed stained his triumph over Hunald, 
gratified the revenge of Lupo, or blackened the 
Gascon's treachery by its consequences ; and the 
young monarch spared his rebellious subject, though 
prudence, and even humanity, taught him to guard 
against future insurrection. 

While waiting the return of his envoys from the 
court of Lupo, Charlemagne dedicated his time to 
the construction of a fortress on the banks of the 
Dordogne,* in order both to employ his own troops, 
and to overawe the turbulent people of Aquitaine ; 
and, after Hunaldf had been delivered bound into his 

* E<rinhard, Annal. ann. 769. 

fl have followed the general opinion of modern writers, that this 
Hunald was the same who had formerly been Duke of Aquitaine, and 
had abandoned the court for the cloister. It is to be remarked, however, 
that neither Eginhard, nor the Annuls of Loisel, nor those of St. Ber- 



108 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

hands, he contented himself with confining him to a 
seclusion scarcely more strict than that of the mon- 
astery which he had abandoned for the purposes of 
rebellion. The submission and obedience of Lupo, 
who had been an accessary, if not a participator, 
in the insurrection, was received as sufficient atone- 
ment ; and thus the war, which had been boldly 
undertaken, and vigorously carried on, was termi- 
nated both with prudence and humanity.* 

This display of energy and power was any thing 
but pleasing to Carloman; and the jealousy which he 
entertained towards his elder brother was greatly 
increased by the triumphant expedition, in which he 
might have gloriously shared, but which he had 
ignominiously abandoned. Men were not wanting 
in his court to urge him on to open hostility, and it 
required every effort of calmer and wiser coun- 
sellors to obviate the approach of internal warfare. 
Nor was the disagreement between the two French 
princes nourished in secret or brooded over in 
silence. Their disputes were heard throughout 
Europe, and became matter of rejoicing to the ene- 
mies, and of terror to the allies, of France. f 

tinus,'state that he was the same person ; and he is represented as having 
been delivered up, una cum uxore sua, which could scarcely be applica- 
ble to a monk, and a very old one. Nevertheless, if it was the same, as 
Monsieur Gaillard observes, there could be no great severity in again 
shutting up a man who had done so voluntarily himself, and only broke 
his vows to excite tumult and rebellion. The only ancient authority 
that I can find which positively states the Hunald now mentioned to be 
the father of Waifar is a life of St. Bertharius in Duchesne. 

* The action of Charlemagne, in demanding Hunald at the hands of 
Lupo, has been stigmatized as " a frightful compliance with the princi- 
ples of a Machiavelian policy," — a piece of insane raving, which would 
have appeared absolutely absurd at the first glance, had the author men- 
tioned the fact of the Gascons having been themselves in revolt. The 
act was in truth one of clemency ; for, with any regard to the peace of 
the country, the young conqueror had no other choice but to carry the 
war into the territory of the Gascons, and seize upon the disturber 
of tranquillity by force, which might, and in fact, must, have caused 
much bloodshed and rapine ; or otherwise to act as he did, and pardon 
the lesser criminal on his yielding the greater, and returning to obedience. 
The text of all the authorities imply that the Gascons were in rebellion. 

t Codex Carolinus, Epist. xlvii. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 109 

A mediatrix, however, still existed of sufficient 
influence to avert actual war. Bertha, the mother 
of Charles and Carloman, was equally beloved and 
honoured by each of her children ; and her good 
offices between them succeeded, though with diffi- 
culty, in maintaining peace, and producing an appa- 
rent reconciliation between the brothers. Having 
accomplished so far her excellent intention, she 
turned her whole thoughts towards the restoration 
of, that general tranquillity which had been so long 
a stranger to Europe. Her zeal in the cause of 
peace now led her to form the scheme of an alliance, 
which, however thwarted by the violent passions of 
others, and however unfortunate in its event, was 
wisely and nobly designed by her in whom it origin- 
ated. This was a union with the court of Lombardy, 
and an extension of the relations between the various 
states of Italy and France. For the purpose of con- 
ducting the negotiations in person, the queen set out 
for the Roman territory ; but took occasion to pass 
through Bavaria,* in order to avert a rupture between 
Tassilo, duke of that country, and his sovereigns, 
the kings of France. Having opened a communica- 
tion between the duke and Charlemagne, which 
afterward produced the effects she desired, Bertha 
proceeded to Italy, on her journey of peace and 
reconciliation. 

In the mean time, several changes deserving of 
notice had taken place in the relative position of the 
Lombards and the Romans, since the last expedition 
of Pepin, which rendered the interposition of Bertha 
not unnecessary. The death of Astolphus, against 
whom the arms of the Prankish monarch had been 
turned, had occurred immediately after his submis- 
sion, and a struggle ensued for his vacant throne. 
Desiderius, who had commanded for Astolphus a 
considerable body of troops, and who to some mili- 

* Annates Bertiniani, 770. 

K 



110 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

tary talent added great hypocrisy and much barbarian 
cunning, instantly determined to seize the crown 
of his dead master, and made every preparation for 
that object. But a strong party was soon formed* 
against him, at the head of which appeared Rachis, 
once king of Lombardy, but who, in former years, 
had abandoned the robe of royalty for the monastic 
gown. Desiderius soon found that his influence 
among the Lombards was quite insignificant, 
compared with that which Rachis could oppose ,to 
him ; and the wily aspirant, rather than yield the 
prize at which he aimed, resolved to strengthen his 
power, by alliance with two persons who had 
proved the most formidable enemies of his nation, 
— namely, the Roman pontiff and the monarch of 
the Franks. 

Pepin, who was then still alive, was entirely 
guided in this instance by the pope ; and Stephen 
the Second willingly promised his aid to the ambi- 
tious soldier, on condition that Desiderius would 
undertake to fulfil to the utmost all those engage- 
ments which Astolphus had left unaccomplished at 
his death. The Lombard, who scrupled to break no 
promises, had little hesitation in pledging himself to 
whatever was demanded as the price of assistance 
and support. He acceded to every particular which 
the papal envoys were instructed to require, and 
bound himself by the most solemn vows,f to the 
completion of the treaty of Pavia. Stephen, for- 
getting, what experience should have taught him 
long before, — that oaths to hold ambition are but as 
the green withes wherewith the Philistines bound the 
limbs of the Hebrew giant, — believed the sincerity 
of the Lombard, armed, threatened, and solicited in 
his favour ; and, finally, seated him on the throne 
for which he struggled. J 

* Chron. Anon. Salernitan. 

t Chron. Anon. Salernitan. ; Codex Carolinus, Epijst. viii. 
+ Stephen, in the warmth of his heart at all Desiderius's epecioup 
promises, styles him Vir mitissimus. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. HI 

The moment his object was attained, the prom- 
ises of Desiderius were forgotten, and their fulfil- 
ment skilfully evaded. Pepin was at this time fully- 
occupied with the wars of Aquitaine ; and the Lom- 
bard, seeing that the Roman pontiff was not likely 
to receive any speedy assistance, proceeded by de- 
grees from refusing restitution* to renewed aggres- 
sion, and finally struggled, both by art and arms, to 
recover the territory which the French monarch 
had formerly wrested from the usurping grasp of his 
predecessor. 

Though the dominion of the Eastern empire had 
been cast off by the people of Italy, no declared and 
precise separation had yet taken place. The two 
countries were disunited in fact ; but the Greeks 
held some small territory on the peninsula ; the 
words of absolute disjunction had not been spoken; 
and the emperors still kept up their claim upon Italy, 
and their hope of recovering it. Aware that in all 
the struggles between the enfeebled power of Con- 
stantinople and the Roman states a thousand oppor- 
tunities would be afforded to the Lombards for 
aggrandizement and rapine, Desiderius called the 
Greeks back to the Italian shores, and endeavoured 
to allure them to the attempt, by promising the aid 
of all his forces. In the dangers and difficulties with 
which these intrigues enveloped them, the popes 
had again and again recourse to Pepin; and Paul I., 
who succeeded to his brother Stephen II., seems to 
imply, by the many expressions of gratitude and 
obligation which fill his letters, that the monarch of 
the Franks, though still prevented by the wars of 
Aquitaine from personally chastising the treachery 
of the Lombard king, had exercised some effectual 
influence, from time to time, in behalf of the Roman 
church. 

To Paul — after the mad attempt to establish the 

* Codex Carolinus, Epist. xv. xvi. xxi. xxii. 



112 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

lay pope Constantine, who became the victim of 
his own ambition, was deposed and blinded- — had 
succeeded Stephen III., one of the weakest men 
who ever filled the apostolic chair. His election 
had hardly taken place ere he sent messengers to 
Pepin, praying for the continuance of that assistance 
which had been afforded to his predecessor. But 
Pepin was, by this time, no more ; and Sergius, the 
faithful friend and envoy of the pope, found Charles 
and Caiioman sovereigns of France. The ready 
activity of the two young kings was easily worked 
upon by the eloquence of the papal legate ; and a 
mission with some troops was despatched by each 
to give protection and assistance to Stephen, then 
the inveterate enemy of Desiderius, and the con- 
temner of the whole Lombard race. 

Itherius, charged with this mission to Italy by 
Charlemagne, executed it with care and circum- 
spection, and contrived to give much satisfaction to 
the pontiff, without embroiling his master in a dis- 
tant contention, at a moment when the monarch was 
engaged in suppressing the revolt of Aquitaine.* 
He remained no longer in Rome than the duty he 
had to perform required ; but Dodo, the commissioner 
of Carloman, either by desire of the monarch, or for 
his own purposes, protracted his stay in Italy, and 
warmly advocated the cause of the Roman church 
against the King of the Lombards. Combining with 
Sergius, the nomenclator of the holy see, and his 
father Christopher, he attempted to enforce the res- 
titution of the Roman lands and cities, and urged on 
his purpose with imprudent haste, so that all tended 
towards open warfare between the Franks and the 
Lombards. 

It was at this time that Bertha, the mother of the 
French princes, undertook the work of pacification, 
and conceived, that, by uniting her eldest son Charle- 

* Codex Carolin. Epist. xliv. ; A. D. 769-772. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 113 

magne to the daughter of Desiderius, the King of 
Lombardy might be induced to restore the contested 
territory to Rome, and that tranquillity might be re- 
called to Europe. Her journey into Italy, and its 
object, soon reached the ears of Stephen; and all 
the influence of the Roman church was exerted to 
prevent an alliance between the hereditary friend 
and protector of the popes and a daughter of the 
inimical Lombards.* 

A letter of the weak pontiff upon this subject still 
remains, showing a lamentable want of dignity and 
temper, with common decency lost in vehemence 
of expostulation. Innumerable base and degrading 
epithets are applied to the Lombard race ; and few 
languages could have supplied the prelate with more 
vulgar and dirty abuse than he has found in the ele- 
gant tongue of the Romans. Every obstacle, also,f 
that the most politic ingenuity could devise was 
thrown in the way of the proposed marriage ; but 
the motive for abstaining, which surely should have 
been the most conclusive in the eyes of the young 
monarch, had it really existed, was his own union 
with another woman. 

That Charlemagne had already had a son, called 
Pepin, by a person named Himiltruda, is known ; 
but that the character of the connexion between 

* Codex Carolin. Epist. xlv. 

f Monsieur Gaillard has confounded the whole of this part of the his- 
tory of Charlemagne, by not examining sufficiently the very works he 
cites. He places the proposal of the alliance between Charlemagne and 
Desideria after the temporary friendship which took place between Ste- 
phen and the Lombard king, and after the death of Sergius, who was 
strangled in prison by the order of the pope ; and by this gross error he 
transposes cause and effect through a long series of false deductions. 
Now, the contrary fact is self-evident, as Stephen in his prohibitory letter 
to Charles and Carloman on the subject of the proposed marriage men- 
tions Sergius as Sergium jidelissimum nostrum nomenclatorem, and 
consequently Axes the date of the transaction, beyond doubt, as previous 
to his friendship with Desiderius, and his hatred of Sergius. The Chron- 
icle of Moissiac also places the date of Bertha's journey to Lombardy, 
and her return with Desideria, in the year 770. See Anastas. Bibliothecar 
in Vit. Step. III. ; Codex Carolin. Epist. xlv. ; Moissiacens. Chron. D. 
Bouquet, vol. v. * 69 

K2 



114 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

him and the mother of his son was but temporary 
is evident. It is certain that the nation of the 
Franks did not consider it as a legitimate marriage ; 
nor, even if they had, would it have proved an in- 
superable obstacle, for the bonds of that engage- 
ment, on which so much of the safety and welfare 
of society depends, were of no very strong and 
tenacious quality in the barbarous age to which our 
eyes are now turned. Divorces* were easily and 
frequently obtained ; and there were even cases 
where no formal interposition of the law was neces- 
sary to legalize a second marriage, while the hus- 
band or wife of the first was still living, f The pope, 
however, selfishly fearful of the new alliance, in- 
sisted strongly upon the indissolubility of the exist- 
ing union, whatever it was. He not only remon- 
strated, but threatened, and even -proceeded to 
anathematize all who should neglect his warning. 

Notwithstanding his menaces and his wrath, the 
marriage took place, and, before long, a change in 
his own feelings induced Stephen himself to look 
upon it with a more lenient eye. Neither excom- 
munications nor interdicts were then such formidable 
engines as they afterward became ; and, ignorant 
of the powers of the thunder they possessed, the 
popes, in the infancy of their dominion, contented 
themselves with launching the bolts at molehills, 

* Pere Sirmond, Conciles de Gaules, torn. i. 

t Si quis necessitate inevitabili cogente in alium ducatum seu provin- 
ciam fugerit, * * * * si abstinere non potest, aliam uxorem, cum pceni- 
tentia, potest accipere. — Concil. Vermer. Can. 9. It appears certain, 
however, that Charlemagne was not really married to the woman men- 
tioned, although the pope chooses to believe that such was the case. 
Eginhard boldly calls her concubine; and the papal epistle, we must 
remember, was addressed to Carloman (whose marriage was undoubted), 
as well as to Charles. The supposition of his marriage to this woman 
Himiltruda rests solely on the authority of the pope's letter, and on one 
expression of Paul Warnfried.(a) Every collateral circumstance tends to 
disprove it, as well as the direct testimony of Eginhard, but none more 
strongly than the fact of her son having never been recognised as legiti- 
mate. 

(a) De Episcopis MetteMiJbus, 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 115 

with which they afterward learned to rend the 
mountains. Though a weak man, Stephen III. was 
too wise to assail his benefactors ; and the storm 
of malediction with which he had threatened the 
proposed espousals hung suspended on his lips the 
moment they were completed. At the same time, 
Desiderius made some concessions to the Roman 
see, and succeeded in once more persuading the 
pontiff that he was willing to become his ally, and re- 
store to Rome all that his predecessors had snatched 
from her sway. Nor did his dissimulation stop there ; 
but, as Sergius and Christopher had been the con- 
stant and talented opponents of the Lombard power, 
and had not only counselled the pope in his resist- 
ance, but had counselled him well, he contrived, by 
the artful agency of Paul Affiarta, who possessed 
the spirit, and acted the part of tribune of the peo- 
ple,* to blacken the character of those two faithful 
servants in the eyes of the feeble prelate. Stephen 
was easily deceived : the unhappy Sergius became 
the object of his dread and apprehension ; the Lom- 
bard king was called to Rome by the blinded pontiff 
to defend him against his best friends; and, in a 
weak and ill-concerted effort made by Sergius, Chris- 
topher, and Dodo to take possession of the Lateran, 
and exclude the foreign monarch from the city, the 
people abandoned them at the command of the pope- 
and those three leaders fell into the hands of their 
enemies. 

The two Romans were given up to the wrath of 
Desiderius and Affiarta ; and though the sanguinary 
history of the Roman prisons is ever obscure, it is 
believed that Christopher, after having submitted to 
the horrible operation which doomed him to endless 
darkness, died of the consequences ; and that Ser- 
gius, his son, was strangled in. his dungeon. Dodo, 
the Frank, was only allowed to escape out of respect 

* Anastasius, in Vit. Stepn. III. 



116 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

or fear for Carloman his master, whom it was wise 
to conciliate, and dangerous to outrage. With that 
prince Desiderius, it is evident from many circum- 
stances, kept up a constant and intimate correspond- 
ence towards the close of the year 770 ; and, as one 
of the learned Benedictines* has observed, we have 
reason to regard it as more than probable, that the 
coldness of Carloman towards his brother Charle- 
magne is to be greatly attributed to the machinations 
of the Lombard. Though it is unwise in general to 
imagine, in a remote age, those extended views of 
policy which seem the produce of a more enlightened 
state of society, yet the profound art of Desiderius 
is established beyond a doubt by all his actions ; and 
the project of weakening a mighty and dangerous 
power, by fomenting disputes between the two mon- 
archs who swayed it, was certainly within the scope 
of even barbarian cunning. 

His efforts to create divisions and increase dis- 
sensions were greatly weakened by the influence 
of Bertha over both her sons, — an influence which 
she ever employed to promote union ; and the mag- 
nanimous character of Charlemagne himself was a 
still greater obstacle in the way of such attempts. 
Neither coldness,! suspicion, nor even anger on the 
part of his brother could provoke him to one hasty 
word, or one rash act ; and it would appear that this 
moderation was not wholly without effect, even on 
Carloman himself, who, after many long and, on his 
part, violent discussions, was at length reconciled 
to the kindred monarch in so public a manner, that 
congratulations on their restored affection forms 
the subject of one of the papal letters.^ 

After the death of Sergius and Christopher, the 
confidence placed by the pope in the king of the 
Lombards was strong, in proportion to the weak- 

* D. Bouquet. 

t Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magn. 

j Muratori, Script. Rer. Ital. vol. iii. part ji. p. 184. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 117 

ness of his own understanding-. All his opinions of 
Desiderius and his nation were changed ; and, with- 
out remembering that he had very lately indulged in 
the most violent and unchristian abuse of both the 
sovereign and people of Lombardy, he now poured 
forth, with the same facility, a torrent of ill-judged 
and unseemly praise.* 

This change of sentiment may have tended greatly 
to allay his wrath at the marriage of Charlemagne 
with the daughter of Desiderius. But, at all events, 
the humane policy of Bertha seemed, for some time, 
quite successful. She visited the court of Deside- 
rius, paid her vows at the shrines of the most es- 
teemed saints in Italy, brought back her proposed 
daughter-m-lawf to France, witnessed her union 
with Charlemagne,^ and saw the papal opposition 
cease. Italy was tranquillized ; the Roman pontiff 
was reconciled to his dangerous neighbour ; and in 
Bavaria the queen's intercession had been any thing 
but in vain. Charlemagne had readily consented to 
peace, on the first overture of Tassilo, and despatched 
Sturmius, abbot of St. Fulda, to negotiate with his 
disaffected vassal.^ Terms were easily concluded 
with a clement king ; and the aspect of all things 
promised tranquillity to the world. 

* In one epistle the Lombards are called leprosi and fcetentissimi, 
their alliance is pollution, and the union of darkness with light (Codex 
Carolin. epist. xlv.) ; and in the very next letter, Desiderius is styled 
excellentissimus filius noster ; and all sorts of praises are showered 
upon his head. It has been supposed, however, with some show of rea- 
son, that when the pope wrote the latter of these epistles, he was in the 
hands of Desiderius, and acting under compulsion. 

| She is called by various names in history, Desideria, Desiderata, 
Hermingard, and Bertha. In regard to this marriage, it is also to be re- 
marked, that, from the Codex Carolinus, some idea seems to have been 
entertained of a double alliance, and that it was proposed to give Gisila, 
the sister of Charlemagne, to Adalgisus, the son of Desiderius. How- 
ever, from the whole tenor of the forty-fifth epistle, it is evident that 
the pope was ill informed in regard to the views of the Carlovingians, 
and therefore might have been mistaken on this point. Eginhard posi- 
tively states, that from her earliest years, Gisila was devoted to the 
cloister; and the fact is certain that in the cloister she lived and died. 

X Annales Petaviani, ann. 770. ; Chron. Moissiac. 

$ Vit. S. Sturmii. ; Abb. Fuldens. 



118 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

Such auguries, however, soon proved false. But, 
though the germs of future warfare lay hid in all 
the circumstances of the peace — though the ambi- 
tion of Desiderius looked upon it merely as a tem- 
porary means — and the turbulence of Tassilo only 
regarded it as a short repose, — yet the first blow 
given to its stability was by Charlemagne himself ; 
and a personal repugnance to the alliance he had 
formed produced the same evil consequences as 
ambition, revenge, or any of those passions which 
we are accustomed to regard as the grander impel- 
lents of human nature. Some strong disgust seized 
on the monarch of the Franks towards his Lombard 
wife ; and he determined on seeking, through the 
lax laws of divorce which then existed, the only 
means of deliverance in his power. His purpose* 
was not effected without considerable opposition 
from his nobles, his relations, and his mother Bertha. 
The latter, who had cemented the union of her son 
with the Lombard princess, could not, of course, 
behold its speedy dissolution without great pain; 
nor could she contemplate the consequences with- 
out apprehension. She argued — she remonstrated ; 
she threatened to withdraw from the young monarch 
her society, which she knew he loved, and her coun- 
sels, which she knew he esteemed ; and his immove- 
able resolution produced the only serious disagree- 
ment which ever troubled the intercourse of Bertha 
and her son. 

Charlemagne persisted in his determination, and 
pursued his object without pause. The cause of di- 
vorce on which he insisted, — incurable sterility, from 
natural defect,! — has been more than once admitted 
as valid, in the case of monarchs ; and the king 
found no difficulty in inducing his bishops to dis- 
solve the marriage. Desideria was repudiated ; and 
Charlemagne, whose temperament and desire of 

* Eginhard in Vit. Car, Magn. 

t Monachus Sangallens, Jib. ii. cap. 26. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 119 

offspring did not permit of his remaining unmarried, 
immediately raised to his bed Hildegarde,* the 
daughter of a noble family in Suabia, who proved a 
more happy and more prolific wife. 

It was not to be expected that Desiderius should 
forget the insult offered to his race ; and the means 
which had been employed to unite the Lombards to 
the Franks by the bonds of peace thus became the 
cause of new disunion, and added personal hatred 
to political opposition. The enmity of the Lombard 
king towards Charlemagne was at oncef taken for 
granted throughout Europe, and was acted upon by 
all who were themselves inimical to the monarch of 
the Franks ; so that the court of Pavia became a 
general refuge for the fugitives from Gaul. Hunald 
Duke of Aquitaine appears to have been the first 
who made it his asylum. How he effected his es- 
cape from the confinement to which Charlemagne 
had subjected him is not now to be discovered ; but, 
after a very short imprisonment, we find him seek- 
ing protection at Rome. Whether the pope,| Ste- 
phen III., by this time cured of his mistaken friend- 
ship for the Lombards, and fearful of offending his 
best supporter, Charlemagne, refused to receive 
Hunald in his flight, — or whether he himself, doubt- 
ing the inviolability of a sanctuary whose chief 
guardian was his successful enemy, abandoned it 
voluntarily, does not appear ; but it would seem that 
his stay in Rome was very brief. In all probability, 
as soon as he heard that the daughter of Desiderius 
had been put away by Charlemagne, calculating on 
human nature, he sought refuge at the Lombard 
court. No evil, however, thence accrued to the 
French monarch. The long, unhappy, and turbulent 
existence of Hunald was now drawing near a terri- 
ble close ; and, having either embraced some heresy 

* Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni. 
] Mon. Sangallens, lib. ii. cap. 26. 
j Anastasius ; Chron. Sigebert, Mon. Gemblacensis, A. D. 771. 



120 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

obnoxious to the Lombards, or abandoned Chris- 
tianity altogether,* he was stoned to death within a 
short period after his arrival at Pavia. 

Another fugitive soon appeared at the court of 
Desiderius, with claims and rights which gave that 
monarch new hope of dividing and neutralizing the 
power of the Franks, and of avenging the insult he 
had received in the person of his daughter. 

Late in the year 771, Carloman, the sharer of the 
French monarchy, expired ; and, though no mention 
is made by any of the annalists of the precise cause 
of his death, except that it proceeded from some 
disease in the ordinary course of nature,! there is 
reason to believe that his decease was sudden, as 
we find no attempt, on his part, to secure the suc- 
cession of his territory to his children, nor any dis- 
positions in regard to its partition between them. 

Scarcely had the funeral ceremony been per- 
formed, and the body of Carloman laid in the earth 
at the church of St. Remigius| of Rheims,§ when 
the evident disaffection of her husband's vassals and 
the fear of a brother towards whom that husband 
had ever shown both jealousy and suspicion, induced 
Giberga, the widow of the dead king, to fly to Italy. 
This step Eginhard pronounces to have been unne- 
cessary in itself; but it was certainly in no degree 
surprising, at a time when the immediate succession 
to the throne depended upon the choice of the peo- 
ple ; and when the death of a competitor was often 
considered necessary to the security of a successful 
candidate. Her flight, therefore, was not extraor- 

* The word used by Sigebert is " apostatavit," without any explana- 
tory matter. 

t Eginhard in Vit. Car. Magn. cap. iii. 

% The Chronicle of St. Denis says that Carloman was buried at St. 
Denis; but the Annals of Metz, St. Fulda, and of Herman, all assign 
Rheims as his burial-place, — a point only important inasmuch as it 
affects the question of whether Austrasia or Neustria was the portion 
of Carloman. 

$ Annalea Mettens. 771. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 121 

dinary ; but when, instead of trusting- to the protec- 
tion of the church, she chose, as the place of her 
refuge, the court of her brother-in-law's profound 
enemy, Desiderius, and solicited him to establish 
her children on the throne of their father, without 
the consent and contrary to the customs of the na- 
tion, she seems to have acted with hasty passion 
rather than with prudent care. She chose to trust 
to the arms of strangers, which could never prevail 
where national affection was wanting. Very few of 
her husband's nobles accompanied her into exile; 
and the rest, forming the great body of the nation, 
unanimously declared Charlemagne their king.* 

Were it necessary here to reiterate all that has 
been before said concerning the uncertain nature of 
the regal succession in France, it might be clearly 
shown that, in all instances, hereditary right was 
only acknowledged by the people in a limited sense,f 
requiring to be accompanied by the specific consent 
of the nation ;| nor can it be doubted, that no re- 
partition of the kingdom was held valid without the 
confirmation of the general assembly of the Franks. 
This popular power had been preserved by frequent 
exercise under the whole of the Merovingian race, 
and had been confirmed most strikingly by the de- 
position of Chilperic and the elevation of Pepin. 
The right, therefore, of the nobles of Carloman's 
dominions to choose his brother for his successor 
was undeniable ; and many circumstances induced 
them to do so without hesitation. 

A reign of two years over a considerable portion 
of the French people had already sufficiently dis- 
played the character of the young monarch to show 

* Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magn. ; Annates Eginhard. ; Annal. Mettens. 

t Eginhard makes use of the remarkable words, " Gens Merovin- 
gorum, de qua, Franci reges sibi creare soliti erant."— Eginhard, in Vit. 
Car. Magn. 

t Chron. Fredigar. cap. cxxxvi. ; Eginhard Ann. ann. 768. ; Egin- 
hard, in Vit. Car. Magn. cap. i. and ill. 

Li 



122 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

that he possessed all those talents requisite to lead 
a barbarous nation in difficult and momentous times. 
The nobler, the finer, the grander qualities of his 
mind and his heart, it is probable, the rough chiefs 
of his warlike people neither saw nor estimated ; 
but it was the peculiar attribute of that great prince 
to add to feelings and powers which would have 
ornamented the brightest times, those animal abili- 
ties and ruder perfections calculated to dazzle, cap- 
tivate, and control the age in which he lived. His 
courage, his skill, and his activity, as a commander, 
were well known throughout the land; and, after 
the death of his father, his liberality and protection 
had been extended to all the faithful friends and 
adherents of the great king to whom he succeeded.* 
He was thus esteemed, admired, and loved by the 
clergy, the soldiers, and the people ; and it is any 
thing but wonderful that such a leader should have 
been the universal choice of the Franks, in prefer- 
ence to an infant monarch and a female regent. 

In accepting a crown which the nation had every 
right to bestow, Charlemagne was justified. He 
committed no crime — he violated no law — he was 
no usurper. But whether it would not have been 
nobler to have preserved the throne of their father 
for his brother's children is a question not so easy 
of solution. The appearance of such an action 
would certainly have been more magnanimous, 
whether the reality were so or not; and where a 
doubtful procedure redounds to the advantage of the 
person who adopts it, the world is ever ready, and 
often just, in attributing it to a selfish cause. 

Nevertheless, a number of truly patriotic motives, 
to a mind so extensive in its views as that of Charle- 
magne, might act in opposition to kindred affection 
and native generosity. The good of the people that 
he was called to govern certainly required some 

* Vit. Sturmii, Abb. Fuldensis. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 123 

other rule than that of women and children. Too 
many instances were before his eyes of the fatal 
effects springing from such an administration, for a 
doubt upon that point to enter his imagination ; and, 
on the other hand, even if the nation would have 
consented to his governing in the name of his 
nephew till the child grew up into the man, it is evi- 
dent that his sister-in-law, Giberga, anxious for the 
supreme power herself, would never have yielded 
her assent. At the same time, it must be remem- 
bered that the very proposal would have been an 
attack upon the rights of the French people to a voice 
in the succession of their monarchs, which Charle- 
magne was then in no condition either to make or 
to support. 

Other motives undoubtedly concurred to deter- 
mine the young king in his acceptance of the crown. 
If we may judge from the immensity which he after- 
ward accomplished, and from the steadiness and 
unity of design with which he pursued the general 
civilization of Europe, we shall find cause to believe 
that great scheme to have bean the offspring of his 
mind at a very early period, and to suppose that all 
the power he acquired was regarded by him only as 
the means of accomplishing a vaster purpose. To 
reason thus of any vulgar conqueror would be idle, 
but the life of Charlemagne, taken as a whole, justi- 
fies the argument ; and if such were his general 
views, he could not doubt that, in his hands, the 
union of the whole French empire would be more 
beneficial to itself in every part, to Europe, and to 
the world, than any portion of that power could be, 
intrusted to a woman and a child. Let it be granted 
that, even under this view, Charlemagne was ambi- 
tious ; and, had he violated any right — had he usurped 
the power which he accepted — the end could not 
have justified the means, and his ambition would 
have been criminal. But the Franks had a just title 
to offer him the crown ; he had an equal title to 



.• * 



124 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

accept it ; and if he did so for the benefit of his coun- 
try, or for the benefit of mankind, his design was 
great, and his ambition was noble and glorious. 

Whatever were his motives, Charlemagne received 
without hesitation the homage of those subjects 
who, since the death of his father, had been placed 
under the dominion of Carloman ; and the whole of 
France was again united beneath one sceptre. 

The empire which was thus given at once to his 
command was, beyond doubt, the most powerful in 
Europe, in every point of view. Italy was divided 
and exhausted ; Greece was weak and debased ; the 
north was portioned among various tribes, and, 
under the government of each and all, was still bar- 
barous and distracted. England, separated into 
many kingdoms, was inefficient as a whole ; and 
Spain was still agitated and employed by the bloody 
struggles of her different conquerors. But France, 
blessed with a hardy and a vigorous race, unener- 
vated by luxury and unweakened by divisions, com- 
prised the whole extent of country from the Medi- 
terranean to the oc%an, from the Pyrenees to the 
Alps. A regularly organized state of society ex- 
isted, though that state was far from perfect. Her 
laws, though scanty, were well known, were mild, 
and were more generally enforced than those of any 
other country. Her population was numerous, and 
her produce sufficient for her population. Her re- 
sources of all kinds were immense, and those re- 
sources were now intrusted to one who with exten- 
sive and extraordinary powers combined love for his 
country and feeling for mankind. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 125 



BOOK III. 

FROM THE DEATH OF CARLOMAN TO THE CAPTURE 
OF PAVIA. 

FROM A. D. 771 TO A. D. 774. 

Some Account of the Saxons— Their continual Aggressions on the French 
Frontier— Charlemagne invades Saxony — Destruction of the Idol 
Irminsula — Submission of the Saxons— Circumstances of Italy — 
Intrigues of Desiderius — Adrian elected Pope — His firm Resistance of 
the Lombards— Demands Aid from France— Charlemagne endeavours 
to negotiate with Desiderius — Marches to the Deliverance of Adrian — 
Passes the Alps— Siege of Pavia— Capture of Verona— His Reception 
in Rome— Fate of Pavia— Fate of Desiderius. 

The intrigues of Desiderius were strengthened 
and directed by the presence of the widow and 
children of Carloman; but whether Charlemagne, 
strong in the love and support of his people, depised 
the weak machinations of his enemies in Italy, or 
whether a more pressing danger in the north called 
first for his attention, certain it is that the imme- 
diate effort of his arms, after reuniting the two great 
parts of the French monarchy, was turned against 
those barbarian tribes who still ravaged the German 
frontier of France. With a pertinacity which 
nothing could overcome, and with a ruthless disre- 
gard of oaths, engagements, and ties which no chas- 
tisement could correct, they, year after year, pil- 
laged and desolated the transrhenane dominions of 
the Franks, slaughtered the inhabitants, and carried 
off the wealth of the country.* 

* Some of the French writers, I know not why, for they are unsup- 
ported by even a shadow of historical authority, have chosen to repre- 
sent these wars as a struggle for independence on the part of the German 
tribes. (See Gaillard, p. 249, 340, <fcc.) It only requires to be remarked, 
that the German tribes were always the aggressors ; that none of these 

L2 



126 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

The chief of these nations was that people, or 
confederation of tribes, called the Saxons, of whom 
the Frisons were either a mere branch, or else per- 
petual allies. With the origin of the Saxons I am 
not called upon to meddle. Suffice it, that the first 
mention of such a people in history is to be found in 
Ptolemy,* who flourished in the second century of 
the Christian era. They were then an insignificant 
tribe, inhabiting, with several others, the small penin- 
sula of Jutland, and possessing three islands at the 
mouth of the Elbe. Their territories, however, 
were soon augmented, partly by aggression on the 
neighbouring states, and partly by coalition with 
other nations, who, feeling that, as numbers formed 
the truest strength, union was the surest policy, f 
combined with the Saxons to participate in the plun- 
der which that race continually acquired, and gradu- 
ally lost their distinctive appellations in the general 
name of the people with whom they associated them- 
selves. 

In the time of Charlemagne, the possessions of 
this great league were very extensive, stretching, 
at one point, from the banks of the Rhine nearly to 
the Oder, and, on the other hand, from the North 
Sea to the confines of Hesse and Thuringia. War- 
like in their habits, vigorous in body,t active and 
impatient in mind, their geographical situation op- 
erating together with their state of barbarism, ren- 
dered them pirates, extending the predatory excur- 

wars in Germany were undertaken but for the purpose of punishing 
some great predatory inroad into the territories of France, or of securing 
the frontier against a fresh attack; and that none of the German nations 
tributary to France joined the Saxons in their wars. 

* Dubos, Histoire Critique. I have seldom been tempted to cite either 
Dubos or De Buat. Both were bigoted theorists ; and, notwithstanding 
their learning and research, it is almost as troublesome to sift the his- 
torical truths they have collected from the loose hypotheses in which 
they have involved them, as to seek them out in the original authorities. 
Nevertheless, the account of the Saxons by Dubos is sufficiently cor- 
rect, and suits my purpose from its brevity. 

t Sharon Turner, Hist, of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. p. 149. 

} Dubos, Hist. Crit. vol. i. p. 195. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 127 

sions common to all the northern tribes to the sea 
as well as to the land. 

A thousand circumstances had combined, in the 
course of several hundred years, to lead the Saxons 
to carry on their warfare upon the waves. The 
fleets which the Romans had built before their eyes, 
as well as the maritime alliance which two Roman 
rebels, Carausius and Magnentius, had entered into 
with Germany, for the purpose of obtaining support 
in their usurpation of the purple, taught the barba- 
rian confederates both naval architecture and naval 
skill. Thus, while the art was gradually forgotten 
by the declining Romans, the Saxons went on in 
progressive improvement, and at length became, 
properly speaking, the only maritime people at that 
time in Europe.* 

In an age and among a people where plunder and 
conquest were the only substitutes known for general 
commerce, the Saxons felt the great advantage of 
possessing all the insulated positions which could 
afford shelter to their frail and ill-constructed ves- 
sels, f They held, from an early period, greater part 
of the islands scattered round the mouths of the 
German rivers ; and soon beginning to extend their 
dominion, they captured, at different times, all those 
on the coast of France and in the British sea. Not 
contented, however, with this peculiar and more 
appropriate mode of warfare, the Saxons who re- 
mained on land, while their fellow-countrymen were 
sweeping the ocean, constantly turned their arms 
against the adjacent continental countries, especially 
after the conquest of Britain had, in a manner, sepa- 
rated their people, and satisfied to the utmost their 
maritime cupidity in that direction. 

Surpassing all nations,! except the early Huns, in 

* Sharon Turner, Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. p. 145-6. 

t The part below the water was formed of light wood- work ; that 
above of wicker, sometimes covered with hides.— See Dubos, Histoire 
Critique. 

J See Bede ; Sidonius' Epistles ; and the Saxon Chronicle. 



128 ~ HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

fierceness, idolaters of the most bloody rites, insa- 
tiable of plunder, and persevering in the purpose of 
rapine to a degree which no other nation ever knew, 
they were the pest and scourge of the north. Hap- 
pily for Europe, their government consisted of a 
multitude of chiefs,* and their society of a multitude 
of independent tribes, linked together by some bond 
that we do not at present know, but which was not 
strong enough to produce unity and continuity of 
design. Thus they had proceeded from age to age, 
accomplishing great things by desultory and indi- 
vidual efforts ; but up to the time of Charlemagne, 
no vast and comprehensive mind, like that of Attila, 
had arisen among them, to combine all the tribes 
under the sway of one monarch, and to direct all 
their energies to one great object. 

It was for neighbouring kings, however, to remem- 
ber that such a chief might every day appear ; and, 
once more leading on the barbarians of the north, 
might extinguish in blood the little light that still 
remained in Europe, if some means were not taken 
either to break their power, or to mitigate their 
ferocity. 

Such was the state of the Saxons at the reunion 
of the French monarchy under Charlemagne ;f and 

* I may be permitted to refer once more to Mr. Sharon Turner's valua- 
ble work ; — " The most ancient account of the Saxon government exists 
in this short but expressive passage of Bede, — ' The ancient Saxons 
have no king ; but many chiefs sit over the people, who, when war 
presses, draw lots equally ; and whomsoever the chance points out, they 
all follow as leader, and obey during the war. The war concluded, all 
the chiefs become again of equal power.' That the continental Saxons, 
in the eighth and preceding centuries, were under an aristocracy of 
chieftains, and had no kings but in war ; and that the kings who were 
then chosen laid aside their power when peace was re-established, is 
attested by other ancient authorities." — See Sharon Turner's Anglo- 
Saxons, vol. i. p. 210. The inconveniences of this system are suffi- 
ciently obvious. They could attack, but they could not defend ; they 
could execute an enterprise concerted by themselves, but they were 
never prepared to resist invasion from without. 

1 1 have subjoined, in the notes, the simple and energetic words of 
Eginhard, who, without striving to justify a warfare which he never 
dreamed would be stigmatized, by the illiberal candour of after-ages, as 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 129 

it would seem, that the first step he proposed to him- 
self, as an opening to all his great designs, was com- 
pletely to subdue a people which every day ravaged 
his frontier provinces, and continually threatened 
the very existence of the nations around. 

Against them, consequently, were turned the first 
efforts of his arms, as soon as he became the sole 
sovereign of France ; but to overthrow and to subju- 
gate was not alone his object. Doubtless, to defend 
his own infringed territory, and to punish the ag- 
gressors, formed a part of his design ; but beyond 
that, he aimed at civilizing a people whose barbar- 
ism had been for centuries the curse of the neigh- 
bouring countries, and, at the same time, commu- 
nicating to the cruel savages, who shed the blood 
of their enemies less in the battle than in the sacri- 
fice, the bland and mitigating spirit of the Christian 
religion.* 

That in the pursuit of this object he should have 
ever committed, either on a principle of policy, or of 
fanaticism, or of necessity, a great and startling act 
of severity, is to be much lamented. But no infer- 
ence can be drawn from a single fact in opposition 
to the whole tenor of a man's conduct ; and Charle- 
magne proved incontestably, by every campaign 
against the Saxons, that his design was as much to 
civilize as to subdue. These wars have been made 
the subject of bitter accusation against him, and it 
has been said, that his true policy should have been 
to defend his frontier by a strong line of fortresses ;f 
but we have only to turn our eyes for one moment 

base and cruel, nevertheless gives, by the mere statement of facts, a clear 
and satisfactory picture of the motives on which Charlemagne acted, and 
the necessity under which he lay, as a king and a patriot, of effectually, 
totally, and permanently subduing the Saxons. See Note II. 

* Dubos, Hist. Crit. Sharon Turner, Anglo-Saxons. 

t This assertion is clothed in the vast, vague bombast with which the 
French of a particular epoch were accustomed to disfigure history ; and 
■which, though it stands not a moment before philosophical examination, 
Impresses the casual reader with a great idea of its vigour and stability. 



130 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

to the invasion of the Eastern empire by the Huns, 
in order to find an example of the utter inefficacy 
of fortresses in staying the progress of barbarian 
armies. The hundred castles of the Illyrian border 
impeded not one hour the march of Attila ; nor did 
the greater cities, though fortified by all* that the 
united experience of Greece and Rome could sug- 
gest to strengthen them, offer any more effectual 
obstacle to the barbarian.f The fate of the East 
was tried and decided in the field ; and thus, with 
France, no fortresses could have defended her fron- 
tier from an enemy whose inroad was ever as rapid 
and as destructive as the lightning. The Saxons 
were not less fierce, active, or vigorous than the 
Huns ; and Charlemagne had but one choice — either 
boldly to seek and subject them by force of arms, to 
soften their manners and change their habits by the 
combined effect of law and religion — or to wage 
constant, bloody, and disadvantageous war with 
them on his own frontier while they continued in 
separate tribes, and, if ever they united under one 
great chief, to risk his crown, his country, and the 
world, wherever and however they chose to call 
him to the field. 

His resolution was immediately taken; and, the 
year after the death of his brother and the choice of 
the people had placed him on the throne of the re- 
united kingdom,^ he held a great diet of the nation 
at Worms, and announced his intention of leading 
his warriors to the chastisement of the Saxons. 
Many of those who heard him had suffered, either in 
their property of through their relations, from incur- 
sions of the barbarians ; and all willingly assented 
to an expedition which proposed to vindicate the 
insulted honour of France, and punish the spoilers 
of her territory. The military preparations of the 



*Procopius de Edificiis, lib. iv. \ Marcellinus, 

J A. D. 772. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 131 

young monarch were soon completed ; and, entering 
the enemy's territory, he laid waste the whole land 
with fire and sword,* according to the cruel mode of 
warfare in that day. No force appeared to oppose 
him, and he penetrated, without difficulty, to the 
castle of Eresburg, where a garrison had been left. 
The fortifications were speedily forced by the Frank- 
ish soldiers, and a much more important conquest 
followed than that of the castle itself, namely, that 
of the famous temple of the Irminsula, or great idol 
of the Saxon nation. The temple consisted of an 
open space of ground, surrounded by various build- 
ings,! ornamented by every thing rapine could col- 
lect and offer at the altar of superstition. In the 
centre rose a high column, on which was placed the 
figure of an armed warrior ; and gold and silver, lav- 
ished on all the objects around,! decorated the shrine, 
and rewarded the struggle of the. conquerors. 
Nearly^ at the same spot, it would appear, the 

*Eginhard, Ann. ; Ann. Tiliani. ; Ann. Petavian. 

t Sharon Turner. J Annales Loiseliani. 

§1 have borrowed almost the whole of this account from a note of 
Monsieur Guizot, and have placed it in the text because I believe it to 
be perfectly borne out by the observations of Monsieur Stapfer, in the 
Biographie Universelle. Nevertheless, on a subject which, from Its very 
nature, is doubtful, I may as well add the conjecture of Mezeray, who 
declares, that in ancient Saxon the word Irmunsul meant " common 
statue," and that the one so named was that of the god Mars, so called 
because he was common to all, now favouring one party, now another. 
Dom Bouquet also (Receuil des Hist. Franc, torn. v. page 14) tran- 
scribes a discussion on this subject from Spelman, too long for insertion 
here. The description, however, of the idol itself, as given by Mr. Sharon 
Turner, is by far the most interesting, though it must be remembered 
that it is cited from Meibomius, who quoted it from the Saxon Chronicle, 
and, as I believe the composer of that record wrote solely from tradition, 
his accuracy may be doubted. 

" But the Saxon idol whose celebrity on the Continent was the most 
eminen t was the Irminsula. 

******** 

" Its temple was spacious, elaborate, and magnificent. The image 
was raised upon a marble column. 

" The predominant figure was an armed warrior. Its right hand held 
a banner, in which a red rose was conspicuous ; its left presented a bal- 
ance. The crest of its helmet was a cock. On its breast was engraven 
a bear ; and the shield depending from its shoulders exhibited a lion in a 
field full of flowers. The expressions of Adam of Bremen seem to inti- 



132 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

famous battle took place between Arminius* and 
Varus, in which the Roman was signally defeated, 
and Germany freed from the yoke of the empire. 
The grateful Germans, we are told, in memory of 
their emancipation, and in honour of their liberator, 
raised a rude pillar on the spot, calling it Herman- 
saule, or the pillar of Arminius. f But, as years passed 
by, and many a barbarian tribe swept over the coun- 
try, the occasion of its erection was forgotten — the 
name was corrupted to Irminsul — the reverence of 
the people for the monument of their victorious 
struggle deviated into adoration — and the statue of 
their triumphant general became an idol, to which 
many a human sacrifice was offered.;}; It is more 
than probable, indeed, that Mars, the god of battles, 
had supplied the place of the conquering German 
in the minds of his succeeding countrymen ; and it 
seems certain, that this idol was not alone the object 
of veneration to one particular tribe, but was consid- 
ered as the great tutelary deity of the whole people. 
Its capture, therefore, was naturally an ominous 

mate that it was of wood, and that the place where it stood had no roof. 
It was the largest idol of all Saxony ; and, according to Bolwinck, a 
writer of the fifteenth century, whose authorities are not known to us, 
though the warlike image was the principal figure, three others were 
about it. From the chronicle called the Vernacular Chronicle, we learn 
that the other Saxon temples had pictures of the Irminsula. 

"Priests of both sexes attended the temple. The women applied 
themselves to divination and fortune-telling ; the men sacrificed, and often 
intermeddled with political affairs, as their sanction was thought to 
ensure success."— Sharon Turner, Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. p. 224. 

* Smidt, Hist, des Allemands. 

t Michaud, Biograph. Universelle, voce Arminius. 

i The rites of the Saxons were bloody at almost all periods of their 
history. In regard to the sacrifices offered to Irminsul, Mr. Sharon 
Turner, whose deep erudition it is unnecessary for me to notice, gives 
the following account : — " In the hour of battle, the priests took their 
favourite image from its column, and carried it to the field. After the 
conflict, captives, and the cowardly of their own army, were immolated 
to the idol. Meibomius states two stanzas of an ancient song, in which 
the son of a Saxon king, who had lost a battle, complains that he was 
delivered to the priest to be sacrificed." The question of what deity was 
worshipped under this form Mr. Turner wisely leaves in doubt, probably 
regarding the solution as impossible^ and conjecture as vain. See Tur- 
ner's History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. p. 225. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 133 

event in the eyes of the Saxons; and, following 
rigorously his purpose of extinguishing their pagan 
rites, Charlemagne at once overthrew the vain ob- 
ject of their worship — an old and convincing mode 
of proving the impotence of false gods. The fane 
was at the same time demolished, the pillar was cast 
down, and buried deep below the surface of the earth, 
and three days were consumed in the work of de- 
struction. This long delay,* in the heat of summer, 
and in a dry and barren country, saw the waters of 
the rivers round about exhausted, and exposed the 
army of the Franks to all the horrors and difficulties 
of a general drought, in the midst of an unknown 
and inimical country.! To advance was impossible ; 
to retreat was perilous in the extreme ; and Charle- 
magne was placed in a situation both painful and 
dangerous. One of those happy accidents, however, 
which, forgotten in the fate of meaner men, are 
marked and remembered when they second the 
efforts of those whose genius and whose perseve- 
rance raise them to great eminence, intervened to 
save the monarch and his army. While the troops 
were reposing, during the heat of the day, a sudden 
torrent filled the bed of a river, which had lain for 
many days dry before their eyes. The soldiers 
devoutly believed that a miracle had blessed and re- 
warded the destruction of the idol ; and, elevated in 
mind as well as refreshed in body, they marched 
boldly on to the banks of the Weser, ready to fight 
with all the burning zeal of fanaticism, or to die 
with the iron constancy of martyrs. 

Neither battle nor bloodshed proved necessary. 
Disunion among themselves, a wasted country, and 
a powerful enemy were quite sufficient motives to 

*A. D. 772. Ann. Eginhard. ; Ann. Fuldens. 

t All the annals mention this drought, except those of Moissiac, which 
do not speak of the expedition at all. The annalist of Mentz dwells 
more strongly than the rest upon the sudden supply of water, and points 
out that it was looked upon as a great miracle. 

M 



134 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

induce the Saxons to offer once more that nominal 
submission which they had so often rendered, and 
so often thrown off. 

Charlemagne had not yet experienced their utter 
faithlessness himself, though the history of his pre- 
decessors furnished him with many an instance of 
pledges given and forgotten ; and treaties entered 
into and violated, by the same barbarian enemy. 
His clemency, however, taught him to overlook the 
past; and, seeking rather to reclaim than punish, 
he accepted the twelve hostages which the Saxons 
offered as sureties for their future tranquillity, with- 
drew his troops, and left the missionaries to effect 
by persuasion what the sword is impotent to en- 
force. 

It is worthy of remark,* that in the course of this 
campaign, which may be taken as an example of the 
system of hostilities pursued by the Saxons against 
the Franks through the whole war, no general battle 
was fought. Scattered in various bands, a sort of 

* Monsieur Gaillard declares that a battle took place before the taking 
of Eresburg ; but I must cite his own words. " La prise d'Eresbourg 
avoitete precedee d'une bataille perdue par les Saxons, et qui s'appela 
la bataille du torrent. Les Frangois, que la soif consumoit, et qu'elle 
alloit forcer a la retraite, furent sauves par un torrent, qui, ayant ete a 
sec jusque-la, roula tout-acoup des eaux abondantes, ce qui produisit Ie 
double effet de desalterer les Francais et de les encourager." He founds 
the whole of this ingenious romance upon the medal bearing the inscrip- 
tion Saxonibus ad torrentem devictis, which was struck upon the occa- 
sion of the battle of Thietmelle or Dethmold, in the territories of the 
Prince of Lippe, or upon that of the one which immediately followed, 
A. D. 783, eleven years after the period to which he assigns it. None of 
the other statements are more correct. The drought took place after the 
taking of Eresburg. In cujus destructione cum in eodem loco per tri- 
duum moraretur, contigitut propter continuam cceli serenitatem exicca- 
tis omnibus illius loci rivis acfontibus, $rc(a) Neither did Charles ever 
fight more than two battles against the Saxons. The words of Egin- 
hard are precise : — " Hoc, bellum licit per multum temporis spatium tra- 
heretur, ipse non amplius cum hoste quam bis acie confiixit semel juxta 
montem qui Osneggi diciiur, in loco Theotmelli nominato, et iterum 
apud Hasam Jluvium, et hoc uno mense, paucis quoque interpositis 
diebus."(b) These two battles are fixed by the annals of the same author 
in the year 783. 

(a) Eginhard, Annal. ann. 772. (6) Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni, cap. viii. 




HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. ] 35 

federative republic without any general government, 
the Saxons seldom if ever could collect a sufficient 
force to oppose the great and formidable armies of 
the Franks. A country but slightly cultivated, and 
property entirely moveable, afforded them the means 
of abandoning the land with little risk or loss ; and 
they vanished before the footsteps of an invading 
enemy, or only appeared to harass his march and 
cut off his supplies. Whenever he showed any in- 
clination to advance far into the country, they ob- 
tained his absence by pretended submission, and by 
oaths never intended to be observed ; and the mo- 
ment they were freed from his presence they en- 
deavoured to repay themselves for any damage he 
had occasioned by ravaging and spoiling his frontier 
provinces. 

In the present instance, either Charlemagne was 
deceived by their submission, or trusted to the cap- 
ture of their fortress and the destruction of their 
great idol, to intimidate and repress them. At the 
same time many circumstances combined to call the 
young monarch back to France ; and after receiving 
the Saxon hostages he returned to his own country 
with all speed. New wars and new conquests lay 
before him. The storm which had been gathering 
in Italy, though it broke not immediately on his own 
head, by falling on a friendly power, whose regard 
for his interest had drawn it down, required him in 
honour and justice to interpose. 

Various changes had taken place in the Italian 
peninsula during the expedition into Saxony, which 
ultimately brought about some of the greatest events 
in the whole of the French monarch's magnificent 
career. The intrigues which Desiderius had not for 
a moment ceased to carry on, in order to deceive 
and plunder the weak pontiff of the Roman church, 
had been principally conducted by the well-known 
Paul Afiarta, one of the most wily and subtle nego- 
tiators of the day. Endowed with a persuasive and 



136 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

popular eloquence, devoid of all moral feeling, and 
without any fixed principle but ambition, he had 
allied himself with Desiderius, in order that, sup- 
ported by the Lombards, he might govern Rome by 
a double influence, over the prelate and the popu- 
lace. With the people he was ever a favourite, and 
for some time he was successful with the pope ; but 
before the close of his pontificate, Stephen, notwith- 
standing the weakness of his understanding, began 
to discover how completely he had been deceived by 
the Lombard, and to perceive that the restoration of 
the contested cities was more distant than ever. 

His mind was not sufficiently firm to make any 
equal and vigorous efforts in defence of the Roman 
state ; and he lived not long enough, after having 
opened his eyes to the treachery of the Lombard 
king, to display many of those passionate and in- 
decent struggles which were more in accordance 
with his temper and understanding. During the last 
few months of his life, he did little to free himself, 
although he saw the bonds with which he had 
suffered his hands to be enthralled ; and dying, he 
left the Roman mitre nearly in the gift of Afiarta. 

Adrian, who succeeded to the vacant chair, well 
understood the dark and ambitious character of the 
popular leader ; but as the Roman citizens had then 
a principal voice in the election of their bishops, he 
dissembled his feelings towards Afiarta till he him- 
self was placed securely in the pontifical seat, by the 
unanimous consent of the clergy and people.* 

Nor even then did he venture at once to traverse 
the designs of the demagogue by open opposition. 
Afiarta was still honoured and employed ; and his 
approaching disgrace was concealed under the ap- 
pearance of an honourable embassy to the court of 
Desiderius. Had a distant mission to an inimi- 
cal monarch been proposed to the wily Roman, he 

* Mabillon, Mus. Ital. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 137 

would probably have suspected his danger, and 
refused to absent himself from a city where his 
safety was ensured by his influence over the multi- 
tude ; but when the road laid before him was short, 
and the monarch to whom he went was his own im- 
mediate confederate, he saw no risk, and undertook 
the task. The opportunity, also, for conferring with 
Desiderius seemed the most favourable that could 
be chosen ; and Afiarta set out for Pavia, in the Ml 
belief that he was carrying on his own purposes to 
their consummation. 

Still Adrian wisely refrained from any hasty at- 
tempt to execute his designs against the traitor, who 
had betrayed his predecessor, and was preparing to 
betray him also. He suffered Afiarta to reach the 
Lombard court, and to transact both the public busi- 
ness with which he was charged, and the private 
intrigues on which he was intent. But, in the mean 
time the influence of the demagogue fell gradually 
lower and lower among the people of Rome, while 
that of Adrian, who was not himself deficient in 
popular talents, increased in a great degree. The 
pope then found that, supported by his own favour 
with the citizens, and their fickle forgetfulness of 
their former leader, he could venture to do justice ; 
and as the false minister was returning from his em- 
bassy, he was arrested at Ravenna by the bishop of 
that city, tried, condemned, and executed for the 
murder of Christopher and Sergius. 

The exact chronology of the other events of this 
period is somewhat obscure ; and I have separated the 
fate of Afiarta from the circumstances affecting Char- 
lemagne, as I could not discover what was the part 
which the Roman took in any of them. It is cer- 
tain, however, that Adrian was scarcely seated in 
the chair of St. Peter, when the Lombard king,* 
seconded probably by Afiarta, repeatedly and anx- 

* Anastas. Biblioth. in Vit. Hadrian I. 
M2 



138 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

iously pressed the pontiff to acknowledge the children 
of Carloman, who were then in exile at his court ; 
and to consecrate them as the rightful sovereigns of 
that part of France which their father had possessed 
during his life. 

The enmity of Desiderius towards Charlemagne 
was both personal and political; and his object in the 
present instance was easy to divine. Perfectly im- 
potent himself to invade with effect the territory of 
France, or to injure the monarch of a united people, 
he hoped, by establishing a new claim upon the 
Franks, supported by the sanctifying authority of 
the church, to raise up a powerful party for the 
children of Carloman in that monarch's former 
dominions, and thus to create the means of attacking 
Charlemagne, both by drawing alarge body of Franks 
to his own cause, and weakening his enemy through 
their defection. 

For the purpose of gaining the pontiff, it would 
seem that he once more renewed his often violated 
oaths of making full restoration of every part of the 
exarchate and Pentapolis. But Adrian was too 
wise either to trust to vows whose fragile nature 
had been so often proved, or to abandon the alliance 
of a firm and powerful friend, for the promises of a 
feeble and treacherous enemy. His decided refusal 
to anoint the children of Carloman, together with 
the death of Afiarta, drew down upon him the utmost 
wrath of Desiderius. The Lombard king had not 
only accompanied his solicitations with promises in 
case they were granted, but also with threats in case 
they were rejected; and these threats he proceeded 
immediately to execute. 

Taking advantage of the absence of Charlemagne 
in the north, and the difficulties of the Saxon war- 
fare in which he was engaged, Desiderius prepared 
to follow the universal policy of his predecessors, 
and to aim at the possession of the whole Roman 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 139 

territory. His first act* was the further dismember- 
ment of the exarchate, from which he seized the 
cities of Faienza and Commacchio ; an act of vio- 
lence considerable in itself, but which was only the 
prelude to greater aggression. 

The pope remonstrated both by letters and am- 
bassadors ; but in vain. The cities remained in the 
hands of the Lombards ; and Desiderius, at the head 
of a large army, entered the papal territory, and 
marched upon Rome itself. Adrian had no forces 
whatever with which he could keep the open country 
against the power of the Lombards; but, though 
straitened in every way, attacked much more rapidly 
than he had expected, and blockaded in the very 
heart of the Roman states,f he remained firm and 
inflexible. A spark, caught from the flame of that 
ancient courage which had so often shone forth in 
other days among the palaces and temples wherein 
he stood, seemed to blaze up in the pontiff's heart ; 
and Adrian resolved once more to defend the walls 
of Rome. The old gates, which had seen many a 
barbarian torrent ebb and flow, but which were now 
too much shattered by the siege of time to promise 
long defence, were taken down by his order, and new 
ones erected in their place ; an action which at once 
gave additional courage to the citizens, and ex- 
pressed to his enemies his unconquerable determina- 
tion. Rome, however, could sustain no protracted 
blockade, and the aid of the Franks was absolutely 
necessary to save from fresh capture and spoliation 
the city which had herself extended conquest so far. 

Even to implore such aid was a task of difficulty. 
By this time the whole of the surrounding country 
was in the hands of the Lombards, and the only 
means of communication still open between Rome 
and France was by the Tiber and the Mediterranean. 

* Supplement. Pauli Diaconi de Gestis Langobard, A. D. 772. 
t Anastas. Bibhoth. in Vit. Hadrian. 



140 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

No European nation except the Saxons could be 
considered at that time as a maritime people. The 
Greeks, indeed, among- the remains of all the mighty- 
things which had come down to them from the 
golden age of the empire, possessed the ruins of a 
navy ; and the Venetians were just beginning to 
aspire to dominion at sea ; but the citizens of Rome 
were little accustomed to trust themselves to the 
waves ; and the attempt to pass into France by the 
Mediterranean was, confessedly, one only to be 
thought of because every other passage was ob- 
structed.* Nevertheless, an ecclesiastic of the 
name of Peter was found to undertake the task ;f 
and having accomplished the marine portion of his 
journey in safety, he arrived at Marseilles, from 
which place he was obliged to traverse almost the 
whole of France to Thionville, where, during the 
winter, Charlemagne was reposing after his expe- 
dition against the Saxons, and rejoicing in the birth 
of a son. 

Admitted to the presence of the young monarch 
of France, the papal envoy urged, in strong lan- 
guage, the propriety and the duty of succouring 
Rome and her pontiff. Nor are the precise terms 
in which this demand was couched unimportant, as 
affecting particularly, the only question by which 
the position and government of any country in the 
present day is immediately connected with the age 
of which I speak. The messenger appeared before 
the king, " demanding," says the Chronicle of Mois- 
siac, % " that he should free the Romans from the 

* A. D. 773. 

t Annales Tilliani ; Ann. Loiseliani ; Ann. Eginhard. 

t The Annals of Metz make use of the same expression. I subjoin the 
original from the Chronicle of Moissiac : — "Veniens ibi domni Apostolici 
Missus Adriani, nomine Petrus, precibus Apostolici ipsum ad defen* 
dendam sanctam Ecclesiam postulavit, ut ipsum Romanum populum 
superbid regis Desiderii liberaret ; adjungens, quod ipse legitimus tutor 
et defensor esset illius plebis, quoniam ilium predecessor suus beatcs 
memories Stephanus Papa unctione sacra liniens in Regem ac Patri- 
cium Romanorum ordinarat." Such was the reasoning used by Adrian 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 141 

oppression of King Desiderius, addding, that he, 
Charlemagne, was the legitimate guardian and de- 
fender of that people, because Stephen the pope, of 
blessed memory, had consecrated him to the Roman 
patriciate, anointing him with the holy unction."* 

Charlemagne immediately saw that both policy 
and honour required him to interfere in behalf of 
Rome, and to support a prelate whose resolute ad- 
herence to his cause had brought upon him the dan- 
ger against which protection was implored. Still, 
though thus moved by every inducement which 
could influence a person in his situation, though 
beyond all doubt warlike as a man and ambitious 
as a monarch, Charlemagne did not hurry on to an 
invasion of the Lombard territory without consider- 
ation' and reluctance,! nor mix in the strife of the 
neighbouring powers — though one was his avowed 
enemy, the other his attached friend — without en- 
deavouring to bring about peace by intercession, and 
to obtain justice by negotiation.! 

With a spirit of moderation, such as perhaps no 
monarch ever displayed but himself— notwithstand- 
ing certainty of success, confidence in his own tried 
powers, the enthusiastic support of his people, the 
urgent solicitations of a friend, a just cause for war- 
fare, and the prospect both of glory and advantage — 
Charlemagne employed every milder means§ ere he 

himself to Charlemagne, and such I believe to have been the inducement 
which led Pepin into Italy. He neither conquered for the Church of 
Rome territories which were already the property of the church, nor did 
he conquer for himself territories to bestow upon the church ; but, as 
patrician of Rome, he recovered for the Roman people, without any ref- 
erence to the actual government, territories which had been unjustly torn 
from the state of which he was the legitimate defender. See Book I. of 
this history. 

*Chron. Moissiac. ; Annales Mettens. ann. 773. 

fEginhard, ann. 773. 

jSupplem. Pauli Diacon. de Gest. Langobard. 

§The supplement to Paulus Diaconus's History of the Lombards 
states, that Charles offered fourteen thousand solidi as a compensation 
to Desiderius, on the consideration of his making full restitution of the 
cities taken. Anastasius, also, in the life of Adrian, mentions the samo 
fact. 



142 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

unsheathed the sword ; and paused long, in the hope 
of still avoiding war ere he broke the happy bonds 
of peace. 

Desiderius, however, confiding in the advances 
he had already made against Rome, in the army he 
had raised, and in the possession of the Alpine 
passes, rejected every pacific offer.* Twice in the 
course of the spring did envoys from the sovereign 
of the Franks visit the court and camp of that mon- 
arch, proposing terms of peace, and offering even to 
buy the justice with gold which was refused to soli- 
citation ; and twice they were sent back by the 
Lombard, with insulting messages of arrogant re- 
fusal. 

The situation of Rome had by this time become 
eminently hazardous ; and Charlemagne felt that 
further delay would be an act of injustice to his ally. 
The very consciousness of power had rendered the 
monarch scrupulous in its exertion ; but, once driven 
to action, not a moment was lost, not an energy was 
unemployed. The Lombard had provoked him 
long, and, beyond doubt, began to imagine that his 
tardiness of resentment proceeded from weakness ; 
for the crafty and the base continually deceive them- 
selves, by attributing the actions of others to mo- 
tives which would have influenced themselves. But 
Desiderius soon found, that, like the snow gathered 
on the mountains which overhung the Lombard 
kingdom, the spirit of Charlemagne, though long 
tranquil, was moved at length only to overwhelm 
every thing by which it was opposed. 

The general assembly! of the Franks, or the field 
of May, was held at Geneva ; and some time was 
spent in deliberating on the measures necessary to 
render the first efforts of the war successful. 
While these consultations were proceeding, the 
French monarch, still anxious for peace, once more 

* Anastas. Biblioth. in Vit. Hadrian. j Eginhard, Annates. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 143 

sfcrit messengers to the King of Lombardy, giving 
him notice and information of the vast preparations 
he had made to support Rome by force of arms ; 
but offering,* even then, on hostages being given 
for the restitution of the captured cities, to with- 
draw his troops, and leave his expedition unaccom- 
plished. 

Desiderius rejected the last hope of peace ; and 
Charlemagne proceeded to force his way into Lom- 
bardy, the first, but the most difficult and most im- 
portant step in the war. The strongest barrier 
which the hand of nature can pile up to separate 
rival nations, and mark the true limits of distinct 
countries, lay before him, in the gigantic masses 
of the Alps. But war was now decided on; and, 
undeterred by frowning precipices and everlasting 
snows, multiplied obstacles, difficulties, and dangers, 
Charlemagne advanced upon his way ; and, separat- 
ing his army into two divisions, he directed one, 
under the command of his uncle, the Duke Bernard, 
to cross the mountains by the Mons Jovis or Mont 
Joux, while he himself led the other into Italy by 
the passage over Mont Cenis. 

To conduct a great force, consisting principally 
of cavalry, through two of the most difficult and 
precipitous mountain passes in Europe, was an un- 
dertaking which even the mind of Charlemagne, all 
bold and confident as it was, would not have con- 
ceived, had it not been absolutely necessary to con- 
quer such difficulties in the outset, to ensure ulti- 
mate success. 

His many attempts to obviate the approaching 
warfare, and the continual rumour of his military 
preparations, had put the enemy on his guard, and 
had given time for every measure of defence Allf 
the easier passes of the mountains were already 

* Anastas. Biblioth. in Vit. Hadrian; Ann. Loiseliani. 
t Chron. Moissiac. ; Annal. Mettens. ; Anastas. Biblioth. in Vit. Had- 
rian, A. D. 773. 



144 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

occupied, and even fortified, by the Lombards ; and no 
way remained of forcing an entrance into Italy but 
by unequal and most hazardous battle, or by the 
long and painful march which he determined to 
accomplish. It would seem, that on this passage 
of the Alps great and extraordinary conquerors 
have taken a pleasure in trying the extent of their 
powers. Hannibal, Charlemagne, and Napoleon 
have each undertaken, and each succeeded in the 
enterprise ; but of all these, perhaps, the monarch 
of the Franks had to contend with the greatest diffi- 
culties, with the least means of success. The 
Carthaginian, it is true, was harassed by enemies, 
and the Corsican was burdened with artillery ; but 
the one could call to his aid all the resources of 
ancient art, whose miracles of power shame our 
inferior efforts ; and the other could command all 
the expedients of modern science, to support his 
own energies, and to smooth the obstacles of his 
way. Charlemagne stood alone in the midst of a 
barbarous age, when the knowledge of ancient 
Europe was extinguished, and the improvements 
of modern Europe were unknown, upheld solely 
by his own mighty mind in the accomplishment 
of an undertaking which he himself had con- 
ceived. 

The design, however, was eminently successful. 
Notwithstanding the difficulty of procuring provi- 
sions, and all the dangers attendant upon the march 
of a large force of cavalry over steeps and glaciers, 
snows and precipices, the army passed in safety, 
and began to pour down upon Italy. Few troops 
had been stationed by the Lombards to guard a 
passage considered almost impracticable ; and those 
few were instantly put to flight, by the first body of 
Franks who traversed the mountains. The rest of 
the invading army followed, after a difficult and 
wearisome march ; and the reunion of the two divi- 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 145 

sions took place at the foot of the descent.* From 
the successful expedition of the Duke Bernard, 
with one great body of his nephew's troops, the 
tremendous mountain over which he forced his way- 
received the name, which it retains to the present 
day, of the Great St. Bernard. It had before borne 
the appellation of Mons Jovis, from a temple to 
Jupiter, which ornamented the side of the acclivity ; 
but the name of the heathen deity was soon forgot- 
ten in the exploit of the Christian warrior ; nor has 
the same passage, effected in an after-age by another 
mighty conqueror, been able to snatch from the 
uncle of Charlemagne the glory of the great enter- 
prise which he achieved, or to efface his name from 
the majestic object with which it is inseparably 
connected. 

The news of this sudden appearance of the Frank- 
ish army, in a quarter where they had been so little- 
expected, passed like lightning to Desiderius, who 
hastened instantly with the main body of his forces 
to oppose the enemy, before they could quit the 
narrow defiles in which they were entangled. Col- 
lecting all his troops, he took possession of the pass 
of La Cluse,f and made a demonstration of defend- 
ing it with vigour. But Charlemagne, having fortified 
his camp in front, detached a considerable force 
through the mountains, to turn the flank of the Lom- 
bards. This movement was instantly perceived by 
Desiderius ; and, struck with sudden terror lest his 
retreat should be cut off, he abandoned at once his 
projects of resistance, and, flying to Pavia, left the 
country open to the Franks. 

* AnnalSs Loiseliani ; Ann. Eginhard. It is difficult to understand 
how two bodies of troops, the one passing by Mont Cenis, and the other 
by the Great St. Bernard, came to effect their junction in the valley of 
Aosla, which could not have been accomplished without a most tedious 
and extraordinary march on the part of Charlemagne. Yet all accounts 
agree upon the subject, stating that the monarch passed by the Mons 
Cinisus, and that the two divisions met at Clusas or Sclusas, apparently 
the pass of La Cluse. 

t Ann. Mettera. ; Ann. Tillianl. 

N 



146 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE* 

Strong fortifications and abundant provisions se* 
cured to Pavia the means of long defence ;* while 
the Franks, naturally impatient, and unaccustomed 
to the protracted operations of a regular siege, were 
likely to be foiled by one which promised every diffi- 
culty that skill, resolution, and despair could oppose 
to their efforts. But the mind of Charlemagne pos- 
sessed those extraordinary qualities which are only 
recorded of the very greatest men, and which 
bend to the will of the individual so gifted, even the 
natural character of those brought in contact with 
him. Determined that his conquest of the Lombards 
should be more effectual than that of his father, 
Charlemagne resolved not to abandon his design for 
vows which might be broken, and submission which 
would certainly be feigned. The siege of Pavia, 
therefore, was undertaken with the determination 
of carrying it on without pause or compromise ; and 
the Franks themselves, yielding their national haste 
and eagerness to the purpose of their king, evinced 
a degree of patience new to all their habits. 

The defence of Pavia had been undertaken by 
Desiderius himself; but Verona also, one of the 
strongest towns of his dominions, he determined to 
maintain against the enemy, while he left the rest 
of the Lombard cities very nearly to their fate. The 
government of Verona he intrusted to his son Adal- 
gisus ; and thither also the wife and children of 
Carloman were sent for their greater security, as to 
a place not exposed, like Pavia, to the first attack 
of the invaders. At the same time, Autcarius, a 
Frankish noble, who had accompanied Giberga to 
Lombardy, was invested with a share of that com- 
mand for which the youth and inexperience of Adal- 
gisus rendered him not fully competent. 

The supposition that the resistance of Pavia would 
long retard the progress of Charlemagne against 

* Anastasius Biblioth. in Vit. Hadrian ; Eginhard, Ann. 773. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 147 

Verona proved to be fallacious. From the first,* the 
Frankish monarch seems to have determined to re- 
duce the Lombard capital rather by absolute blockade 
than by more active measures ; and, as a large 
portion of his troops were thus unemployed, no 
sooner had he seen the trenches completed round 
that city than he led a division of his army against 
Verona. Astonished at the rapidity of his progress, 
and cut off from all communication with Desiderius, 
Adalgisus lost heart, and, instead of attempting to 
occupy and divide the invading force by a spirited 
resistance, he abandoned the army committed to his 
care, and, leaving Verona, fled, first to Pisa, and 
thence to Constantinople.! He was destined never 
to revisit Lombardy; but his existence at the court 
of Constantine, the enemy both of the popes and of 
Charlemagne, was long a subject of disquietude to 
the conqueror of Italy. 

Verona, abandoned by the prince, surrendered 
almost immediately, and the widow and children of 
Carloman fell into the hands of the victor. What 
was the conduct of Charlemagne to the beings thus 
cast upon his mercy has not yet been discovered. 
The eldest son of the dead Carloman is never again 
mentioned in history, and a vague and improbable 
tale is all that has reached us concerning the second.^ 
That tale, however, if it be true, shows that the 
monarch treated his nephew with kindness ; and the 
general character of Charlemagne may well justify 
our belief so far, whether the whole be true or not. 
The same darkness is spread over the history of 
Giberga which involves that of her children ; and 
the only further account we have of Autcarius is a 
laudatory composition in praise of a person of a 
somewhat similar name, which, however, is by no 

* Ann. Mettens. ; Chron. Moissiac. 
t Supplem. Paul. Diac. de Gest. Langobard. 

t See Messieurs Velly and Le Beau, who attempt to identify the son. 
Of Carloman with Siagrius Bishop of Nice, in 777, 



148 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

means clearly proved to be applicable to the follower 
of Carloman.* 

No sooner had Verona fallen than the victorious 
monarch hastened back to press the siege of Pavia ; 
and his designs on Italy gradually extending them- 
selves with time, opportunity, and experience, he 
began to contemplate a longer absence from his na- 
tive country than he had at first proposed, in order 
to effect completely what he had so boldly under- 
taken. His wife and children, therefore, received 
directions to join him in the camp before Pavia ;f 
and their coming gave a new proof to the Lombards 
of his unchangeable resolution, and afforded to his 
soldiers a demonstration of the persevering patience 
with which he intended to carry on the siege. 

Although the capital still held out, the other cities 
of the Lombard kingdom one by one surrendered to 
detached bodies of the Franks. Few of them offered 
any resistance, and in general the people seemed 
not unwilling to amalgamate themselves with a great 
and conquering nation. Pavia, nevertheless, was 
defended long with all the energy of valour and the 
pertinacity of despair. The abundant stores with 
which it had been supplied, managed with care and 
frugality, kept up the spirits of the inhabitants, and 
preserved the obedience of the garrison. Days, 
weeks, and months passed by ; summer, autumn, 
and winter fled ; and yet the city maintained its re- 
sistance, though the whole of the rest of Lombardy 
had submitted. 

At length, as the high solemnity of Easter ap- 
proached, Charlemagne prepared to visit Rome, 
leaving to his officers the task of carrying on the 
siege during his absence. Various motives induced 
him to undertake the journey ; and those extensive 
views of general policy that on all occasions showed 
him the utmost extent of advantage which could be 

*.Conversio Othgerii Militis ; D> Bouquet, vol. v. p. 4,60. 
t Anastasius, Biblioth. in Vit. Hadrian, 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 149 

reaped from any measure, taught him to look upon a 
visit to the ancient capital of the world as a means 
of extending his power, and deriving the greatest 
benefit that could accrue from his expedition to Italy. 
Lombardy, except the capital, whose resistance 
could not be effectual, was already conquered ; and 
the Frankish monarch regarded that country as his 
own, by the right which, with very few exceptions, 
had hitherto alone bestowed dominion, and trans- 
ferred the sceptre from one race to another. He 
was King of Lombardy by force of arms ; but at 
Rome he was to be received as patrician, and Ra- 
venna looked upon him as exarch, — titles which had 
previously been mere names, but of which he now 
intended to exercise the rights. The people of 
Rome, by their voluntary act, had named him patri- 
cian, or military governor ;* and both his father and 
himself had been called upon to perform the most 
arduous duties of that station, without exercising any 
of the power which the office implied. But Italy 
was now at the monarch's feet ; and Charlemagne, 
without the least desire to trample on it, prepared to 
take upon himself the full character of patrician, and 
to govern, though his government was of the mildest 
quality. 

The news of his approach flew rapidly to Rome ; 
and the supreme pontiff, at once animated by origi- 
nal feelings of regard and esteem, grateful for ser- 
vices rendered, and mindful of benefits to come, 
prepared to receive the conqueror of his enemies, in 
the ancient queen of empires, with all the sclemn 
splendour which suited the man, the occasion, and 
the scene. 

In the mean time Charlemagne set out from Pavia,f 
accompanied by a considerable army and an im- 
mense train of bishops, priests, and nobles ; and, 
passing through Tuscany, he advanced by rapid. 

* See Ducange, Gloss, torn. v. p. 149. 

{• Annal. Tiliani. ; Annal. Fuldenses, A, D. 774. 

N2 



150 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

journeys upon Rome. Shouts and songs of triumph 
greeted him on the way; towns, castles, and vil- 
lages poured forth to see him pass; the serf, the 
citizen, and the noble joined in acclamations which 
welcomed the conqueror of the Lombards ; and dead 
Italy seemed to revive at the glorious aspect of the 
victor.* Thirty miles from the city he was met by 
all those who could still boast of generous blood in 
Rome, with ensigns and banners ; and at a mile's 
distance from the walls the whole schools came 
forth to receive him, bearing in their hands branches 
of the palm and the olive, and singing in the sweet 
Roman tongue the praises and gratulations of their 
mighty deliverer. Thither too came the standard 
of the cross, with which it had been customary to 
meet the exarchs on their visits to the city; and 
truly, since the days of her ancient splendour, never 
had Rome beheld such a sight as entered her gates 
with the monarch of the Franks. 

It was now no savage army come to ravage and 
to spoil, with hunger and hatred in their looks, and 
foulness and barbarism in their garments. On the 
contrary, a long train of the princes and nobles of a 
warlike and beautiful nation, mingling, in the bril- 
liant robes of peace, with all the great of a people 
they had delivered, entered the gates of Rome, and, 
amid songs of victory and shouts of joy, were led 
forward through all the splendid remains of ancient 
art, the accumulated magnificence of centuries of 
power and conquest, by a monarch such as the 
world has seen but once. 

Abovej the ordinary height of man, Charlemagne 

* Anastas. Biblioth. in Vit. Hadrian. 

t Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Mag. cap. xxii. Marquhard Freher, de 
Statura, Car. Mag. The dissertation of Marquhard Freher on the height 
of Charlemagne (and on the question whether he wore a beard or not) 
does not satisfy me as to his precise stature. Eginhard declares that he 
was in height seven times the length of his own foot, which we have rea- 
son to believe was not very small, at least if he bore any resemblance to 
his mother, who was known by the name of " Bertha with the long foot * 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. I5t 

was a giant in his stature as in his mind ; but the 
graceful and easy proportion of all his limbs spoke 
the combination of wonderful activity with immense 
strength, and pleased while it astonished. His 
countenance was as striking as his figure ; and his 
broad high forehead, his keen and flashing eye, and 
bland unwrinkled brow, offered a bright picture, 
wherein the spirit of physiognomy, natural to all 
men, might trace the expression of a powerful in- 
tellect and a benevolent heart. 

On so solemn an occasion as his entry into Rome, 
the general simplicity of his attire was laid aside ; 
and he now appeared blazing in all the splendour of 
royalty, his robes wrought of purple and gold, his 
brow encircled with jewels, and his very sandals 
glittering with precious stones.* 

As he approached the church of St. Peter, and 
was met by the exarch's cross, the monarch alighted 
from his horse, and, with his principal followers, 
proceeded on foot to the steps of the cathedral. 
The marks of his reverence for the shrine of the 
apostlef were such as a sovereign might well pay 
whose actions and whose power left no fear of 
respect being construed into submission. In the 
porch, near the door, he was met by Pope Adrian, 
attended by all his clergy, clothed in the magnificent 
vestments of the Roman church ; and while loud 
shouts rent the air of " Blessed be he who comelh in 
the name of the Lord /" the pontiff held his deliverer 
to his heart, poured forth his gratitude, and loaded 
him with blessings. 

The meeting was one of great interest, both to 
the priest and the monarch. I know no reason 

* Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Mag. cap. xxiii. 

t Anastasius says that Charlemagne kissed the holy steps, one after 
another, as he ascended: but this is not confirmed by the contemporary 
writers ; and though the librarian is a full and good authority where the 
clerical influence is not concerned, his assertions always need collateral 
evidenoe to give them authenticity on points where the power or dominion 
of (he church is implicated. 



152 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

why, in examining the characters of princes, we 
should endeavour to set them apart in their senti- 
ments from the rest of human beings, and not believe 
them to be actuated by the same affections as their 
fellow-men. Though Charlemagne was a great 
conqueror and a clear-sighted politician, an ambitious 
king and a dauntless warrior, we know that he had 
a heart full of the kindest and the gentlest feelings ; 
and there is every reason to believe that all the finer 
emotions of his bosom were affected by his meeting 
with the Roman pontiff.* That he revered Pope 
Adrian as a prelate, and loved him as a man, his 
after-life sufficiently evinced ; and when he met him, 
for the first time, in the midst of Rome, he must 
have remembered that, sooner than bring discord and 
strife into his dominions, the old man before him had 
dared the enmity of a powerful and vindictive mon- 
arch, had seen his country wasted and destroyed, 
and had exposed himself to be besieged in a vast, but 
ruined and depopulated city. We may well believe, 
then, that the feelings of reverence and affection he 
expressed were the genuine emotions of the young 
sovereign's heart. Such feelings on his part, while 
the pope, on the other hand, acknowledged in him 
the saviour of Rome, and the deliverer of the church, 
could not fail to create between them a bond of 
sympathy and regard such as circumstances seldom 
suffer to exist among the great of the earth. The 
friendship thus begun continued through their mu- 
tual lives ; and, with the invariable fortune of union 
between the good and wise, tended immensely to the 
safety and prosperity of both. 

After the arrival of the monarch, several days 
were spent in celebrating the solemnities of Easter ; 
but neitherf the pope nor the king neglected those 
matters of temporal jurisdiction, which were now 



* Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Mag. 

t Anastasms, Biblioth. in Vit. Hadrian. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 153 

tending towards a more clear and decided establish- 
ment than Italy had known for many years. Charle- 
magne was evidently received as sovereign by the 
pope himself, and by the whole people of Rome. 
He was crowned with the diadem of the patricians, 
or exarchs,* and exercised, for the first time, the 
extensive sway with which that office invested him. 
In whatever manner Pepin had reannexed the exar- 
chate and Pentapolis to Rome, that act, it is clear, 
was in no degree such as to exempt those territories, 
or even Rome itself, from the dominion of the pa- 
trician. On the entrance of Charlemagne into the 
city, there was no struggle, dispute, or misunder- 
standing about authority. It was assumed by him 
at once, and granted by the clergy and the people as 
the undoubted right of the patriciate : nor did he 
ever cease to use the supreme power, first as patri- 
cian, and afterward as emperor, from his arrival in 
Italy to the close of his life and reign. To him all 
great causes were referred ; the pope himself ap- 
peared before him as before his judge ; and we find 
repeated instances of his having extended his juris- 
diction to ecclesiastical! as well as civil affairs, 
throughout the whole of the Roman territory. 

Nevertheless, there is every reason to believe 
that Adrian solicited, and that the monarch granted, 
considerable territories, to be held by the Church of 
Rome, though solely conceded as by lord to vassal, 
and by no means independent of the patrician. A 
great variety of forms had by this time been intro- 
duced among feoffs and benefices ; and what were 
the feudal privileges granted on the present occa- 
sion, what those reserved, is very difficult to ascer- 



* SeeChronicon Anonymi Salernitani, cap. xxvi. ; and note 50 in Mu- 
ratori Rer. Scrip. Ital. torn. ii. part ii. It is also worthy of remark, that 
Theophanes, the Greek chronographer, himself mentions Pepin by the 
name of exarch, where he describes the journey of Stephen. 

f Eginhard, in Annal. ; Codex Carolinus, Epist. Hadriani. 



154 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

tain; for, though the popes have since asserted* 
that the donation of Charlemagne was written, the 
original deed has never been seen by any. one ; and 
through the whole correspondence of the pontiffs 
with that monarch, we find no mention made of such 
an instrument. So far from it, indeed, that, within 
a few months of the gift, a contest took place be- 
tween Adrian himself, and Leo, Archbishop of Ra- 
venna,! concerning the limits of the district granted 
by Charlemagne to the Church of Rome, which 
would have been at once determined by the produc- 
tion of the monarch's charter. This, however, was 
never done, and the pope was obliged to apply to the 
King of the Franks, in order to* establish the facts. 
Such an event seems to determine the question ; for 
it must not be forgotten, that the dispute was not 
about a small portion of frontier land, which the am- 
biguity of language might render difficult to define ; 
but about cities and provinces, in regard to which no 
doubt could have been entertained, if any written 
deed had existed to establish the papal claims. 

The limits of the territory granted remain equally 
uncertain to the present day. The papal historians^ 
declare, that the gift of Charlemagne included, 
besides the exarchate and Pentapolis, the whole of 
Corsica, Parma, Mantua, Reghio, and Bardi, with the 
Venetian provinces, and a considerable part of the 
Tyrol, as well as Spoleto and Beneventum. But the 
popes themselves, with more moderate wisdom, 
never, in their letters to the donor, speak of any 
thing beyond the exarchate and Pentapolis, except 
the territory of Spoleto ; and though it is not improb- 
able that Charlemagne might, as Gibbon asserts, 
give that to which he had no right— for rights were 
then but badly defined — it is not at all likely that lie 



* Anastas. Biblioth. in 'Vit. Hadrian. 

t Codex Carolimis, Epist. liv. 

j Anastasius, Biblioth. in Vit. Hadrian, 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 155 

should give what he did not possess, which is im- 
plied by the more than doubtful account of Anasta- 
sius. 

Some slight mention appears to have been made 
about this time, of a prior donation* from Pepin to 
the holy see ; but not in such terms as to call for op- 
position or confutation, even had Charlemagne been 
inclined to resist the transfer of the property from 
the people to the church. That he was not so is 
sufficiently evident from his own gift to the popes 
of those provinces which his father had reannexed 
to the Roman state, with the addition of Spoleto. 
But, at the same time, it is to be remarked, in regard 
to this famous donation, that even then existed the 
custom of granting considerable territories to the 
principal churches and monasteries under the do- 
minion of the sovereign, as a feudal property to 
be held of the crown ; nor can I look upon the gift 
of Charlemagne in any other light, though various 
after circumstances seem to prove that the people 
of the city of Rome still continued to regard them- 
selves as an independent republic till the hour that 
the patrician was saluted emperor. f To hold these 



* The fact of the donation being mentioned at this period depends 
upon very doubtful assertions, on the one hand, and letters, the date of 
which is by no means clear, on the other. If mentioned at all, however, 
it was with very tempered caution ; and only held out as an inducement, 
in all probability, for the young monarch to imitate or exceed the sup- 
posed liberality of his father. 

t Whether Charlemagne so far forgot or misunderstood his faculties 
as patrician, in his notions as a Frank, as to imagine that he could give 
away at his pleasure the country which had chosen him for its governor 
and defender ; or whether he acted only as a conqueror — which is more 
probable — and, leaving to Rome its original government, bestowed upon 
the popes that part of the territory alone which he had acquired by force 
of arms, — is impossible todiscover, in the confusion created by the mis- 
statements of the papal tribes, and the silence of the Carlovingian annal- 
ists. At all events, the advocates of the pontifical dominion prove too 
much. If Pepin had, as they say, absolutely and entirely bestowed the 
Roman territory on the church, Charlemagne could not do so too, for the 
territory was not his to bestow ; and if Constantine had conferred the 
provinces on St. Peter's successors, the gift of Pepin was as unnecessary 
as that of his son. 



156 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

territories even as a vassal of the Frankish monarch, 
was still, in the opinion of the pope, a great step 
gained ; and we never find that he made any opposi- 
tion, or offered any remonstrance, to the many acts 
of sovereignty exercised by Charlemagne within the 
very provinces bestowed, although those acts were, 
in several instances, such as were seldom justified by 
the feudal tenure of any lands in that day. 

Satisfied with the assertion of his authority by a 
temporary exhibition of the patrician power, Charle- 
magne seems to have required little immediate 
return from the pontiff for the services he had ren- 
dered to Rome and the church. After regulating 
some clerical affairs of little interest, he hastened 
back to Pavia, where his presence at the head of the 
army had become necessary, for the purpose of 
supporting and encouraging his soldiers under the 
wearisome labours of the longest and most difficult 
siege which the Franks had ever undertaken. At the 
same time, many circumstances imperatively re- 
quired that he should press the Lombard capital to 
its immediate fall, and turn his steps towards his 
own paternal dominions. 

One of the most urgent of these circumstances 
was the state of his north-eastern frontier, from 
which continual accounts of the most alarming char- 
acter reached him in the heart of Italy. It appears, 
that no sooner had the news of his absence from 
France spread abroad, than the Saxons hastened to 
take advantage of so favourable a moment, and to 
avenge their recent subjection, by ravaging the 
borders of their conqueror's territory. Flame and 
the sword desolated the land ; and though, on one 
occasion, a panic, which the monks willingly mistook 
for a miracle,* caused the barbarians suddenly to 
fly, at the very moment they were advancing to burn 
the church of St. Boniface, at Fridislar, their terror 

* Annal. Fuldenaes ; Annal. Eginhard. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 157 

was soon forgotten, and their devastation recom- 
menced. 

With these motives for activity stimulating his 
mind, Charlemagne took vigorous measures to ren- 
der the blockade of Pavia more severe than ever. 
No living thing was suffered to enter or to quit the 
city but the birds of the air ; and though Desiderius 
still resisted with desperate resolution, famine soon 
began to undermine the courage of the Lombards. 
The hopelessness of rescue, the subjugation of the 
whole country round, the weariness of restraint, the 
known clemency of the victor, and the miseries of a 
protracted siege, all acted on the hearts of the 
Pavians, and at length, about the middle of the year, 
they threw open their gates to the Franks. 

To compensate for the obstinate resistance, which 
they feared the conqueror might construe into crime, 
the Lombards in the city delivered up Desiderius, his 
wife, and daughter, to Charlemagne, without any 
stipulation in their favour ; and, indeed, seem them- 
selves to have relied entirely on the mercy of their 
conqueror. Their reliance was not in vain;* no 
cruelty stained the glory of the triumph. Pavia did 
not even suffer from plunder ; and the treasures! 
found in the palace of the vanquished Desiderius 
repaid the Franlrish soldiers for their long fatigues, 
though no part went to swell the stores of their own 
liberal monarch. A medalj was struck upon the 
occasion of the fall of Pavia, but Charlemagne did 
not permit any painful act of triumph to crush the 
iron into the flesh of the Lombards. Their institu- 

* The simple words of Paul Wamfrid, a Lombard himself, are very 
striking, in speaking of the conduct of Charlemagne on this occasion, — 
" Et quod rard fieri adsolet, dementi moderatione victoriam tempera- 
vit."— Paulus Diaconus, de Episcopis Mettensibus. 

t Ann. Fuldens. 

% It bore, Devicto Desiderio et Papia recepto, and on the reverse the 
date 774. It is difficult to imagine what made Gibbon assert that the 
siege of Pavia continued two years. Not fifteen months elapsed from the 
period of Charlemagne's march for Italy, till he again set out upon his 
return to France. 

o 



158 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

tions were still left to them inviolate ; and the 
monarch of the Franks appeared among them less as 
a conqueror than as a father. 

He instantly, however, took the title of King of 
Lombardy,* and was crowned with the iron circle 
which the monarchs of that country had assumed 
after their settlement in Italy ; but the choice was 
still left to the people of the land,f in all cases, 
whether they would be judged by their own, the 
Roman, or the Frankish law. A few additions, 
indeed, were made to the Lombard code ; but even 
this was done with a sparing and judicious hand, and 
was softened with the pretence of supplying the 
laws which had been lost or forgotten.! 

The disposition, also, which the Lombards had 
shown to amalgamate themselves with the Franks 
met with every encouragement from the great French 
monarch, whose desire was ever to win, rather than 
to compel. He received the oath of homage from 
the Lombard nobles ; and, as if that oath could not 
be broken, trusted them, in general, with the entire 
government of their towns and provinces, confided 
in their faith alone, and strove in every thing to 
smooth the way for the complete union of the two 
nations, taking care that the humiliation of over- 
throw should not impede the progress of pacification 
and concord. 

These regulations required some time to perfect ; 
but at length Charlemagne once more set out for 
France, and reached it in the middle of August, 
leaving but few troops in the Lombard kingdom. 
Pavia, the capital, and a small number of frontier 
towns, received garrisons ; but the people in general 
had evinced a willingness in their submission ; and 



* It would appear, that, even before the fall of Pavia, Charlemagne 
took the title of King of Lombardy ; but the question is unimportant, 
t Savigny, Hist, of the Roman Law in the Middle Ages. 
i Capitularia Car. Mag. ; Recueil des Hist, des Gaules, torn, v. p. C5& 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 159 

Charlemagne, too strong to be fearful, was too noble 
to be suspicious. 

Adalgisus, however, was now at the court of Con- 
stantinople, whose emperor still looked towards Italy 
with envy and regret ; and it was not at all unlikely 
that the peace of Charlemagne's new kingdom 
might soon be troubled by the intrigues of the Em- 
peror of the East. Desiderius, with his wife and 
daughter, were carried or sent into France by the 
conqueror, and, apparently, were obliged to embrace 
the monastic life ; for we find that the dethroned 
monarch was first committed to the charge of Agil- 
fred, Bishop of Liege, and was afterward conveyed 
to the monastery of Corbie, where he lived for some 
time in the practice of mild virtues and superstitious 
observances, and died at an unknown period.* 

Whether the peace that he now enjoyed com- 
pensated for the splendour that he had lost, and the 
calm contemplations of the cloister were sufficient 
occupation, after the troublous ambitions of the 
palace, history does not mention, though it insinu- 
ates that he was happy. But still, there can be 
little doubt, that the consciousness of having cast 
away empire for revenge must have mingled re- 
morse with memory, and forced many a regret 
upon his mind, — especially when he reflected that 
his own intrigues had worked his downfall, and 
learned from the moral voice of the irretrievable 
past, that had he been virtuous, he might have con- 
tinued great. 

* Chron. Sigiberti, ann. 774 ; Ann. Hepidan. Duchesne Script;. Franc 
torn. ii. p. 472. 



160 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 



BOOK IV. 

FROM THE CONQUEST OF LOMBARDY TO THE BEGINNING 
OF THE SPANISH WAR. 

FROM A. D. 774 TO A. D. 777. 

Charlemagne returns to France— Despatches a Force to punish the 
Saxons— His Habits of Business— He invades Saxony— His Rear- 
guard surprised— The Saxons defeated— Revolt of the Duke of Friuli 
— His Death— Treviso betrayed — Charlemagne returns to Saxony — 
Internal Administration — Character of the famous WUikind— His at- 
tempt to raise Saxony once more— Defeated by the Vigilance of Charle- 
magne—He flies to Denmark. 

The life of a monarch, at all times one of diffi- 
culty and care, is ever, in barbarous ages, an exist- 
ence of continual labour and incessant strife. Nor 
can even a degree of civilization greatly superior to 
the age in which he lives raise a king above a con- 
stant war with the barbarism around him, nor grand 
views for the weal of human nature effect any thing 
for his own peace and tranquillity. 

On the contrary, every general effort to benefit 
the race of our fellow-creatures must always have 
to struggle against narrow prejudices and petty in- 
terests ; and there is unhappily too much reason to 
believe that very extended views in royal bosoms 
only afford new cause for strife, added to the many 
which unceasingly assail a throne. 

Neither, in an uncultivated state of society, before 
reason had learned to curb desire, or long expe- 
rience had shown the fruitlessness of contention, 
could even predominant military power and the gift 
of victory ever secure the duration of peace — unless, 
indeed, some one man could, by a godlike mind, 
render conquest universal, and obedience perma- 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 161 

nent. And yet, peace being, as the great Span- 
iard* beautifully says, the true object of war, so 
warfare must still, in a barbarous age, be the only 
means of peace, however vain the treaties obtained 
may prove, however transitory be the tranquillity 
that follows. 

The most pacific disposition, joined to the most 
benevolent mind, would never have won for Charle- 
magne the repose of his German frontier ; but, in 
fact, the disposition of that monarch, by the habits 
of his nation — by the circumstances of his country 
— by the character of his age — by the education of 
his youth — by the constitution of his body — by the 
very qualities of his mind — was warlike. His be- 
nevolence showed itself continually, in his govern- 
ment, in his laws, in his efforts to soften and to 
civilize, in his treatment of enemies, in his affection 
for his friends, in his placability after personal of- 
fence, and in his active intercession for the unhappy 
and the unfortunate. In all these points, the bene- 
ficence of his heart rose above the rudeness of his 
age, trampled on its prejudices, and cast away its 
passions ; but still by nature he was a warrior, and 
he could not have remained a king unless he had 
been a conqueror. f 

The nations around never suffered him to with- 
draw his hand from the sword ; and as fast as by 
victory he had crushed one of the hydra heads of 
war, another was raised to attack him at a differ- 
ent point. J Scarcely had he entered Italy to the 
succour of Pope Adrian ere, as already mentioned, 



* "Armas . . las quales tienen por objeto y fin, la paz, que es el mayor 

bien que los hombres pueden desear en esta vida 

Esta es el verdadero tin de la guerra, que lo mismo es decir armas que 
guerra," &c. — Don Quixote. 

t I have been led into this digression by some remarks tending to cen- 
sure the French monarch for not sitting still, and suffering the Saxons 
to plunder his provinces, with philosophical tranquillity. 

t Annates Tiliani. ; Ann. Fuldens, A. D. 774. ; Ann. Mettens. A. D. 
773. 

02 



162 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

the Saxons, whom he had so lately subdued, were 
again in arms ; and, secure in the absence of their 
conqueror and the difficult warfare before him, 
were ravaging at their leisure the transrhenane 
provinces of France, and burning all that they could 
not carry away. No sooner, however, had Pavia 
surrendered, and Italy received his law, than Charle- 
magne hastened to the scene of danger. Pausing, 
himself, at Ingelheim, on finding that the enemy had 
disappeared he despatched four armies into the heart 
of Saxony, to punish the aggression of the people, 
while he made preparations to attempt their com- 
plete subjugation in the ensuing year. 

For fifteen months his kingdom had been without 
his presence, and a great accumulation of internal 
business had, of course, taken place during his ab- 
sence. The immense activity of the young monarch, 
however, left nothing long unconcluded, although 
all the affairs of his extensive dominions, which were 
in any degree important, were transacted by him- 
self alone. 

To conceive the possibility of such an undertak- 
ing, the habits of that great monarch must be con- 
sidered, and also the extraordinary constitution both 
of his body and his mind. Gifted with a frame the 
corporeal energies of which required little or no 
relaxation, and which consequently never clogged 
and hampered his intellect by fatigue, Charlemagne 
could devote an immense portion of his time to 
business, and, without taking more than a very small 
portion of sleep, could dedicate the clear thoughts 
of an untired mind to the regulation of his king- 
dom, even while other men were buried in repose. 
He was accustomed, we are told, to wake sponta- 
neously, and rise from his bed four or five times* in 
the course of each night ; and so great was his 
economy of moments, that the brief space he em~ 

* Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Mag. cap. xxiv. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 163 

ployed in putting on the simple garments with which 
he was usually clothed was also occupied in hearing 
the reports of his count of the palace, or the plead- 
ings of various causes, which he decided at those 
times with as much clear wisdom as if listening to 
them on the judgment-seat. 

Some lighter exercise of the mind was neverthe- 
less necessary even to him ; but this was principally 
taken during his repasts,* when he caused various 
works to be read to him, which did not require the 
severe attention that he was obliged to besto.w on 
judicial investigations. The subject of these read- 
ings was, in general, the history of past times, and 
works upon theology, among which the writings of St. 
Augustin are said to have afforded him the greatest 
pleasure. 

By the constant employment of moments which 
would otherwise have been wasted to the intellect, 
an extraordinary mass of business was easily swept 
away ; and, at the end of the very year in which he 
returned from Italy ,f a number of acts, diplomas,! 
charters, letters, judgments, and affairs of all kinds, 
can be traced to Charlemagne himself, the despatch 
of which, together with all those that must have es- 
caped research, would be utterly inconceivable, were 
we ignorant of what were the habits of that great 
and singular man. 

While Charlemagne was thus employed in France, 
the armies sent against the Saxons penetrated into 
their territory in four different directions. Three 
of these hosts met with considerable opposition ; 
but, after contending for some time successfully 
with the enemy, they returned, to pass the winter 
in their own country,^ loaded with spoil and crowned 
with victory. The fourth army found the land 
abandoned by the Saxon troops ; but a great part 

* Eginhard. in.Vit. Car. Mag.- cap. xxiv. f A. D. 774. 

t See De Bouquet, Recueil, vols. v. and vj. 
$ Ann. Tiliani. ; Ann. Eginhard. 



164 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

of the wealth of the nation had been left behind, 
and the Frankish soldiers amply repaid themselves 
for the ravages which had been committed on their 
own frontiers during their absence in Italy. 

The Saxons, however, were still unsubdued ;* 
and a fortress which Charlemagne had repaired at 
Eresburg had been attacked, the garrison defeated, 
and the walls razed to the ground. The frontiers 
of Hesse, which had suffered the most from the 
Saxon inroads during the preceding year, were still 
open to the enemy ; and every thing in the state of 
Germany called for immediate attention and exer- 
tion on the part of the French king. As soon, there- 
fore, as the general assembly of the people could be 
held, he collected his forces, and entering Saxony 
at the head of a considerable army, he captured the 
Castle of Sigisburg, restored the fortress of Eres- 
burg, and, marching on to the Weser, forced the 
passage of that river, which a multitude of the enemy 
attempted for a time to defend. He thence pursued 
the Ostphalians, or Eastern Saxons, to whom he 
was for the time opposed, across the country towards 
the Ocker, on the banks of which river he arrived 
without impediment. 

The extraordinary rapidity of his movements 
seems to have daunted and surprised the Saxons 
even more than his power or skill ; and on his sudden 
appearance at the Ocker, Hasson,f chief of the 
Ostphalians, with the other leaders of his tribe, met 
him, in order to tender hostages for their submis- 
sion. The clemency of the conqueror was not yet 
exhausted. The hostages were once more re- 
ceived ; and, turning towards the sea, Charlemagne, 
in like manner, accepted the promises of the Angra- 
rians, another tribe, which had likewise been in arms 
against him. 

Notwithstanding the bold and daring character of 

* Eginhard, Ann. ann. 775. 

t Ann. Loiseliani, ann. 775; Ann. Tiliani, ann. 776. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 165 

all his military movements, the Frankish monarch 
had not thus left behind him an immense tract of 
hostile country without taking measures to keep 
open the communication with his own resources ; 
for while he advanced into the very heart of Sax- 
ony, he stationed a considerable body of Franks 
upon the banks of the Weser, to guard the passages 
of that river, and to secure the means of retreat. 

None of the dangers which surrounded him, 
however, escaped the Saxons ; and that part of the 
nation who, inhabiting the western side of the 
Weser, were called Westphalians, soon perceived 
all the advantages which their position in the rear 
of the monarch's army afforded them.* It was 
evident, that in the midst of an inimical country, 
covered with woods, and intersected with rivers, a 
thousand perils and difficulties would attend his 
retreat, if the force left to maintain the communi- 
cation with France were once cut off. To this 
purpose, then, the first efforts of the Saxons were 
directed ; and as the Franks on the Weser were 
in possession of an intrenched camp, stratagem 
was employed to render that advantage of no 
avail, f In the absence of the monarch, the dis- 
cipline of the troops who had remained behind was 
a good deal relaxed ; and with that national want 
of caution which may be still traced in their de- 
scendants, the Franks of the reserve suffered a con- 
siderable body of the enemy to mingle with some 
of their foraging parties, which were returning 
towards nightfall. The Saxons thus penetrated 
into the heart of the camp ; and in the darkness 
easily opened a way for the entrance of their com- 
panions. 

The Franks, suddenly attacked in their sleep, be- 
fore they were aware of the proximity of an enemy 
found myriads of hostile swords at their throats ; 

* Eginhard, Annal. ; Annal. Loisel. 
t Annales Mettensis. 



166 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

and before they could recover from their first sur- 
prise, a great number were sacrificed to their own 
imprudence. But discipline in that day was of less 
consequence than in the present times ; and in a 
hand-to-hand fight, such as then raged in the encamp- 
ment of the Franks, the individual exertions of each 
man were of almost as much consequence as the 
union of the whole. Gradually, the Franks forgot 
their first panic, roused themselves, rallied, resisted, 
overcame; and before morning, the Saxons were 
defeated, and in full flight. 

Nevertheless, flight did not bring them security ; 
for Charlemagne himself, who never yielded one 
unnecessary instant to repose, was by this time 
returning towards his rear-guard. Rumours of the 
attack upon his camp reached him on his march, 
and gave such speed to his movements that he 
arrived on the spot as the Saxons were in the act 
of flying from the scene of their overthrow. A 
hundred thousand fresh swords were added to those 
which already smote the fugitives ; and a fearful 
number of the enemy paid with their lives the pen- 
alty of their bold attempt. This defeat entirely 
dispersed the Westphalians for the time ; the rest 
of the hostile tribes had already given hostages for 
their future tranquillity ; the whole land was bowed 
in apparent submission ; and Charlemagne, leaving 
garrisons at Sigisburg and Eresburg,* now led his 
victorious army back to their native country. 

The repose of Germany was only temporary; 
but, in the mean while, the joy which the capture 
of Pavia and the fall of the Lombard kingdom had 
occasioned in Rome,f began to be obscured by 
storms in Italy itself, and gathering clouds in other 
quarters of the political horizon. Scarcely had 
Adrian, after Charlemagne's return to France, writ- 
ten to his great protector a letter full of blessings 

* Chron. Moissiac. 

t Codex Carolinus, Epist. lv. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 167 

and thanks, than he had cause once more to solicit 
his presence in Italy,* and to address him as a sup- 
pliant, rather than congratulate him as a friend. 
The first disquietude which the pope was destined 
to suffer proceeded from that contest which I have 
already noticed, with Leo, Archbishop of Ravenna, 
who persisted in detaining the whole of the Penta- 
polis, and various cities of (Emilia. These he de- 
clared he had received as a donation from the mon- 
arch of the Franks ; and a long and tedious dispute 
ensued, which could never have taken place had a 
written deed existed to authenticate the right of the 
holy see. But more serious and general dangers 
soon began to menace Italy ; and two after epistles 
of Adrianf are found full of matter affecting the im- 
mediate interest of Charlemagne. 

The state in which Lombardy had been left must 
here be considered, at the risk of repeating some 
facts which have been before mentioned. On the 
fall of that kingdom, Charlemagne, instead of pur- 
suing the course of policy common both in the days 
which preceded and those which followed his reign, 
by dividing great part of the territory he had just 
acquired among such of his followers as he de- 
sired to reward or promote, left the Lombard nobles 
in full possession of. their land, and merely claimed 
their homage as their new sovereign. J This was 
instantly yielded, with every sign of joy and willing- 
ness ; for to escape with life, liberty, and fortune 
was an event which seldom, at that period, befell a 
conquered people. 

At first, the Lombard lords, feeling no compassion 
for their former king, who, for his own ambition 
and revenge, had exposed them all to spoliation and 
abasement, gladly saw the sceptre transferred to a 
clement and generous prince, and joyfully welcomed 

* Codex Carolinus, Epist. lxiii. lviii. lix. 

t Ibid. Epist. lviii. lix. 

j Paulus Diaconus, de Episcopis Mettensibus. 



168 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

the unexpected termination of the war. But con- 
quest had loosened, if not broken, the bonds of soci- 
ety. Charlemagne left them to their own counsels. 
The steel-clad myriads of the Franks, which had 
spread terror* and dismay among them, were 
withdrawn ; fear was forgotten ; a distant monarch 
was despised ; ambition sprang up in the heart of 
every one ; and each of the Lombard nobles enter- 
tained some project of breaking his vows of homage, 
and making himself independent. 

It was some time before unity of purpose rendered 
general disaffection formidable. The first attempt 
was conceived with no extended views, and was the 
simple effort of a turbulent vassalf to free himself 
from his engagements, and establish a separate 
state. This took place in the case of Hildebrand 
Duke of Spoleto, the homage of whose duchy had 
been resigned by the king in favour of the holy 
see. Possibly, encouraged by the resistance of the 
Archbishop of Ravenna, that noble learned to de- 
spise the rule of the Roman prelate, and hoped to 
emancipate himself from the oaths which bound him 
to Charlemagne, now that the monarch had trans- 
ferred his allegiance to a weaker power. He seems 
at first, to have laid no more comprehensive plan than 
that of resisting an authority whose temporal force 
was small, and whose spiritual thunders were then 
feeble and almost untried. 

Greater schemes, however, soon followed. Rod- 
gaud Duke of Friuli,J one of those in whom Charle- 
magne had placed the greatest confidence, and to 
whom he had intrusted the greatest power, began to 
conclude that he also might free himself from the 
authority of him to whom he had pledged his faith.ty 

* Motiach. Sangallens, cap. xxvi. 

t Codex Carolines, Epist. lviii. 

X Armales Loiseliani ; Annales Eginhardi, 776 ; Codex Carolin. 
Epist. lix. 

§ The terms of the annals of Loisel are strong in regard to the treach- 
ery of Rodgaud : — " Rotgaudus Langobardus fraudavit fidem suam, et 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 169 

Although his duchy was powerful and important, 
including a considerable portion of the Tyrol, and 
stretching far round the Venetian gulf, he very well 
knew that a force which had crushed the Lombard 
kingdom while entire could not be successfully op- 
posed by any detached part. But yet he hoped, 
that — by leaguing together once more all the dis- 
jointed members of the state, and by giving to all 
the energy of a common cause, and of individual 
danger — he might be able to recover the independ- 
ence of those territories which had been lost by the 
general apathy, under the reign of Desiderius. 
Gradually these views extended and changed.* He 
found that his personal influence was not sufficient 
to form that bond of union which he desired; he 
doubted that the activity of his confederates would 
be equal to his own; and he naturally turned his 
eyes elsewhere to seek for further support and assist- 
ance. At length, trusting to chance and his own 
skill to reap the greatest benefit from the enterprise,! 
the Lombard chief conceived the design of calling 
back Adalgisus from his exile at Constantinople; 
and proposed to him the total subjugation of Italy, 
by the aid of the Eastern empire. 

Such negotiations passed rapidly between Lom- 
bardy and the Grecian capital. Adalgisus, who had 

omnia sacramenta rumpens voluit Italiam rebellare."— Annates Lois©- 
liani, ann. 775. 
* Eginhard, Ann. ; Annal. de Gestis Car. Mag. Metrice Script, 
t The Saxon metrical annalist gh«s the clearest account extant of the 
revolt of the Duke of Friuli :— 

"Cumque domum rediens, prhveps iter acceleraret 
Cornperit Ausoniis in partibus esse tyrannum 
Nomine Hrodgaudum, nova qui molimina tentans 
Nee, quern rex illi dederat, contexuus honore, 
Italiae latum voluit sibi subdere regrmm. 
Quippe Ducem Comitemque Forojulensibus ipsum 
Constituit Carolus, prima cum clara triumpho 
De Longobardis victor vexilla revexit, 
Huic nimis ingratus dono male solicitabat 
Urbibus ex multis populos, ac fecit ut ad se 
Deficerent, justo Caroli spreto dominatu," &c. 
See Recueil des Historiens Frangais, torn. v. page 141. 
P 



170 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE* 

been received with favour, and invested with pa- 
trician honours* by the emperor, welcomed with 
gladness the hope of recovering the territory of 
his father; and the Emperor Leo, who had suc- 
ceeded Constantine Copronymus, joyfully perceived 
a chance of reuniting under his sway the long-divided 
empire of Rome. 

But Leof was neither by mind nor by body fitted 
for great undertakings. Had his father Constantine 
been still alive, it is probable that the enterprise 
would have been accomplished, or at least com- 
menced, before the monarch of the Franks was 
aware of the conspiracy. The preparations of Leo, 
on the contrary, were weak and dilatory. The sloth 
with which he proceeded gave full time for rumour 
to use her wings. Pope Adrian, watchful on all 
occasions, obtained information of the impending 
danger, and instantly despatched messengers! to 
France, beseeching aid for himself, and pointing out 
the perilous situation of the Frankish monarch's 
new dominions. 

The envoys of the pontiff reached France while 
Charlemagne was still absent, pursuing his success- 
ful expedition against the Saxons ; and the news of 
the conspiracy of Rodgaud, and the danger which 
menaced his Italian territories, met him as he re- 
turned towards his own country. Perils with him 
were always encountered as soon as known ; and, 
without loss of time, he crossed the Rhine with a 
select body of troops, and advanced rapidly towards 
Italy, hoping to effect his passage before the snows 
had blocked up the roads. The year, however, had 
too far proceeded in its course towards winter for 
the monarch to make much progress ; and he was 
forced to pause at Shlestadt, in Alsace. § This 

* Eginhard, Annal. ann. 774. 

t Gibbon, chap. 48. 

t A. D. 775. Codex Carolin. Epist. lix. 

$ Aran. Loiseliani. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 171 

i 

delay was nevertheless productive of no evil conse- 
quences. The torpid slowness natural to the Em- 
peror Leo far more than outdid the necessary halt 
of the King- of France ; and, at a moment when ac- 
tivity was the great requisite to success, days, weeks, 
and months were wasted in idleness by the court of 
Constantinople. 

Not so with Charlemagne : the first melting of the 
snows saw him once more across the mountains, 
and in full career against his enemies. Pavia had 
been secured by the troops he had formerly left 
there ; and, traversing the country with immense 
speed, he left behind him Treviso, though strongly 
garrisoned for the revolted chiefs, advanced upon 
Friuli, and attacked the faithless Lombards before 
they knew that he had passed the Alps. Immediate 
destruction overtook the conspirators, and the death 
of Rodgaud, their leader, followed. Whether he 
was taken in arms, and executed afterward, or was 
slain in battle,* is by no means clear; but whichever 
way it occurred, his fate was undeserving of pity. 
He had broken the oaths which he had voluntarily 
plighted, and he had abused the confidence of a gen- 
erous monarch. The clemency of a conqueror — a 

* The accounts of this matter differ, but it is probable that Rodgaud 
was decapitated. The Tilian Annals, those of Loisel, and those of Ado 
Archbishop of Vienne, who died in A. D. 860, make use of the word 
occisus. The Annals of St. Fulda, those of Eginhard, and the Chroni- 
cles of Moissiac employ the verb interficere to express the death of the 
revolted Lombard. The Annals of Meiz, however, in speaking of Charle- 
magne, say, " Rothgundum cepit et decollare prcecepit." It is to be 
remarked that these last annals are of a later date than several of the 
others. No one, at the same time, mourned the fate of a man who, if 
he was not a rebel to his legitimate sovereign, was a perjured traitor to 
his generous benefactor ; and it was reserved for the historical puritan- 
ism of the present age to blame a monarch for punishing a vassal who, 
after voluntary submission, plighted homage, solemn vows of fidelity, 
and many benefits received, had nearly plunged the whole land into war 
and bloodshed for the gratification of his restless ambition. There is 
only one authority that I know of which states positively that Rodgaud 
was killed in battle— that called the Chrouicon Verdunensis ; which, 
upon consideration, however, I should judge better than any I have cited, 
as the Lombard priest who betrayed Treviso, and was upon the spo^ 
&t the time, afterward became Bishop of Verdttn. 



172 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

virtue then rare — he had repaid with ingratitude; 
and the power and property which had been left 
him he had used as weapons against him who had 
spared them. He had risked all for ambition, was 
conquered, and died. 

In leaving behind him so large a city as Treviso, 
strongly fortified and garrisoned, while he struck 
the decisive blow at the chief of his adversaries, 
Charlemagne seems to have followed a system of 
warfare which has appeared new and bold when ex- 
ecuted by an extraordinary general even in our own 
day. But the moment he had disconcerted the plans 
of Rodgaud, the monarch turned from Friuli, and, 
with the brilliant celerity which characterized all his 
exploits, marched directly upon Treviso, where 
Stabilinus,* the uncle of the fallen duke, had shut 
himself up, resolved to hold out the city to the last. 
The strength of the place and the desperation of its 
defenders promised to render the siege as long as 
that of Pavia ; but an Italian priest, of the name of 
Peter, who happened to be in the fortress, agreed to 
betray the gates of the Lombards to the Franks, and 
before Easter Treviso also was taken. No severity 
followed ; and although the priestf who had de- 
livered up the town was rewarded in a manner which 
the magnitude of the service he had rendered, more 
than his own honesty, deserved, no reason exists 
for believing that Charlemagne punished the revolt 
of Stabilinus in proportion to the value which he set 
upon the conquest. 

The submission of all the other Lombard nobles 
was prompt and complete; but the monarch who 
had once so confidently trusted, and had been so 
speedily betrayed, now took more rigid precautions. 



* Ann. Petaviani; Chron. Poetse Saxon.; Chron. Verdunens. 

t He was created Bishop of Verdun, much against the will of the 
flock. The clemency of Charlemagne, however, towards Stabilinus, and 
all tho other revolted Lombards, would favour the opinion that Rodgaud 
was lulled in battle. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 173 

The cities* which he had found absolutely in revolt 
he consigned to Frankish governors, and provided 
with Frankish troops ; but those vassals whose share 
in the conspiracy was not ascertained by any open 
act of rebellion he wisely left unpunished, permit- 
ting them either to attribute their escape to his 
ignorance of their crime, or to the clemency of his 
nature. The garrisons throughout Lombardy were 
strengthened and increased ; and before the spring 
could be said to have fully commenced, the whole 
country was reduced to obedience, restored to tran- 
quillity, and secured by every provision for its gov- 
ernment and defence. 

The rapidity with which he had executed all these 
great acts was not more than necessary to the 
monarch of the Franks ; for -during the very same 
year he was called upon for a display of his extra- 
ordinary powers of activity, both in resolution and 
performance, such as Europe has seldom beheld. 
But small space of time was allowed him for se- 
curing his Italian dominions against fresh commo- 
tions. At Treviso, the news reached him that the 
Saxons were again in arms upon his northern fron- 
tier ; and before he could pass the Alps, which he 
accomplished with inconceivable rapidity,f he found 
that the fortress of Eresburg had been once more 
attacked and taken, and that the castle of Sigisburg 
was besieged. 

Not a moment was lost by the sovereign of the 
Franks ; but, traversing his own country with the 
speed of lightning, he added what reinforcements 
he could gather to his Italian army, and, to use the 
words of the annalist of Metz, entered the territory 
of his pertinacious enemies like a mighty tempest. 

* Ann. Loiselian.; Ann. Poet. Saxon.; Ann. Eginhard; Ann. 
Mettens. 

t There is something striking in the manner in which the barbarous 
Saxon poet describes the rapidity of the monarch's movements, — 
" Jussit, et ut venit velox, sic inde recessit." 

P2 



174 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

The garrison of Sigisburg had already repulsed the 
Saxon force which had attacked it ; and the presence 
of Charlemagne himself, who, before the Saxons 
were fully aware that he had quitted Italy, was 
sweeping the whole country, from the Rhine to the 
Lippe, with the rapidity of the wind, spread terror 
and consternation through the land. 

Once more subdued,* the Saxons met him in great 
numbers, on the banks of the Lippe, supplicating 
peace and pardon ; and again offering hostages, they 
declared their resolution of embracing the Christian 
faith. Charlemagne, with unwearied clemency, in- 
stantly acceded to their demand; but, determined 
to take greater measures of security, he added sev- 
eral fortresses to those he had before built, and em- 
ployed his troops in again restoring the often-de- 
molished castle of Eresburg. While thus employed, 
the Saxons presented themselves in immense num- 
bers, with their wives and children, for the purpose 
of receiving baptism ;f and the French monarch — 
imagining that the greatest step which had yet been 
taken towards their civilization, and the tranquillity 
of his own dominions, was now gained — left them 
in peace, and returned to France. 

Thus ended the warlike operations of a year of 
extraordinary activity, during the course of which 
Charlemagne had carried on the strife in person, on 
the shores of the Gulf of Venice, and on the banks 
of the Weser, had crossed the Alps and the Rhine, 
and had led an immense army more than three thou- 
sand miles in different directions. Such exertions, 
wonderful in themselves, are the more remarkable, 
when the arms of the Franks at that time are taken 
into consideration, and when it is remembered that 
hfwVy cavalry and men loaded with iron were thus 
marched over a vast extent of country, at a time 



* Annals of Metz ; Annals of Eginhard. 
t Annales Eginhard ; Armales Mettens. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 175 

when every obstacle impeded the free communica- 
tion of different parts of the world. 

The war-dress of Charlemagne himself was wholly 
composed of steely consisting* of the casque, breast 
and back plates, together with greaves, gauntlets, 
and cuissards, formed likewise of iron plates. Nor 
were inferior warriors less cumbrously defended ; 
for though the arms of the earlier Franks were 
light in comparison with this heavy panoply, yet we 
find that, in the days of Charlemagne, each man in 
the army, whose means permitted it, was protected 
by a suit of armour similar to that of the monarch. 

Such rapid and continued movements as those in 
which the Frankish king had been occupied in the 
field, and the many dangers to be averted, and diffi- 
culties to be overcome, which had constantly be- 
sieged his mind, might be supposed to employ his 
whole thoughts, and leave him no time for the more 
pacific affairs of government. But during all these 
wars, though, of course, the absence of the sove- 
reign necessarily left some opportunities of abuse 
in the administration of justice, and in the civil 
polity of his realm, the arrears of business were 
much less than might be imagined. 

The general government of the state remained, 
as I have before observed, in the hands of the 
monarch, who, without any minister to divide the 
fatigues, or support the responsibility, devoted every 
spare moment to its affairs, and soon learned to 
carry it on in whatever part of the world he hap- 
pened to be. But the local administration was dis- 
tributed among provincial officers,! having the title 

* Monachus Sangallensis, cap. 26, lib. ii. 

t This brief account of the internal government of the country is, of 
«ourse, general, and not applying alone to the particular period of the 
monarch's reign of which I now speak. The few regulations which I 
have here noticed were either framed or con finned by capitularies at 
different times ; and are only mentioned in this place to show that the 
tranquillity of the state and the administration of justice were provided 
for during the long wars which I have described. 



176 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

of duke, to the care of each of whom twelve coun- 
ties were intrusted. The counts placed under these 
officers were, in fact, the judges of the land,* and 
had power to summon to their co.urt any one within 
the territory subject to their jurisdiction.! Neglect 
or refusal to obey this summons was visited with a 
severe penalty. At the same time, the counts them- 
selves were forced to render justice by their station; 
and any denial or perversion of right was punished 
by loss of land and rank.J The distant menace of 
such punishment, however, would have been little 
effectualin procuring the constant and clear admin- 
istration of the law, had not ambulatory magistrates 
been appointed to proceed through the kingdom, to 
render judgment themselves in particular cases — to 
take cognizance of the conduct of the dukes and 
counts — and to see justice impartially executed. 
These officers were called Missi Dominici $ and, 
though I do not find it anywhere expressly stated 
that- their times of visitation were uncertain, and, 
consequently, their reception by the counts unpre- 
meditated, yet many reasons exist for believing such 
to have been the case.|| 

* The dukes, the counts, and the patricians (a name still retained) 
were all called upon to administer justice, which is made evident by the 
following words, from a formula of Marculfus : " Ergo, dum et fidem 
et utilitatem tuam videmur habere compertam, ideo tibi actionem. (a) 
Comitates, ducatus, patriciates, in pago illo, quern antecessor tuus ille 
usque nunc visus estegisse, tibi ad agendum regendumque commisimus; 
ita ut semper erga regimen nostrum fidem inlibatam custodias, et omaes 
populi ibidem commanentes, tarn Franci, Romani, Burgundionts, qu«tm 
i eliquae nationes sub tuo regimine et gubernatione degant, et moderentur : 
et eos recto tramite secundum legem et consuetudinem eorum regas, 
Tiduis et pupillis maximus defensor appareas; latronum et malefac-* 
torum scelera A te severissime reprimantur; ut populi bene viventes 
sub tuo regimine, guadentes debeant consistere quieti," &c. — Marculf. 
Form, xxxii. Lindenbrogius. 

t Oapitul. Car. Mag. xlvi. cap. 38. 

I Capit. A. D. 779, cap. ix. and xxi. 

§ Capit. Ann. Imper. xi. 

|| It appears, also, that the administration was even then intrusted to 
the vassals of the crown in general, as well as to the counts, who were 
at tha,t time mere officers, removeable at pleasure. In almost all the. 
capitularies, the vassal is represented as administering the law as well 
&s, tfte count. 

(a) Id est, Officium. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 177 

Their interference proved, of course, a great safe- 
guard to the people ; but still, as the provision of 
forage for the troops, as well as the maintenance of 
bridges, highways, prisons, passage-boats, and, in 
short, all the internal regulations of the country, 
both civil and military, were in the first instance 
intrusted to the counts and dukes, peculation and 
exaction were undoubtedly practised, notwithstand- 
ing the active vigilance of the monarch. 

Although the general administration of law was 
thus provided for, many cases, especially affecting 
the great vassals of the crown, or affairs of high 
ecclesiastical property, were reserved for the deci- 
sion of the king himself, or the count of his palace. 
These causes Charlemagne appears never to have 
neglected on any account ; and, in all his wars, the 
suiters might follow to his tent, and obtain an imme- 
diate decision. Thus, in the heart of Saxony, he 
judged the cause of the Bishop of Treves and the 
Abbot of Pruim ; and in the course of that very year* 
in which he accomplished the two expeditions into 
Lombardy and Saxony, he heard and determined an 
extraordinary number of general pleas. 

Among other affairs brought under his immediate 
notice about this time was that of the pope and the 
Archbishop of Ravenna, whose dispute, it appears, 
was not easily concluded ; as the prelate of the ex- 
archate undertook a journey to France for the sole 
purpose of justifying himself in the eyes of Charle- 
magne, f 

Whatever was the decision of the king, in regard 
to which we have no clear information, it would 
seem that the award was not very unfavourable to 
the archbishop, who, after his return to Italy, con- 
ducted himself with such overbearing insolence as 
to give more offence to Adrian:}; than ever. In con- 
sequence, the great amity which had hitherto existed 

* A. D. 776. t Codex. Carolinus, Epist. liii. \ Ibid. li. lii. , 



178 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

between Charlemagne and the supreme pontiff was 
diminished for a short time, and the papal epistles 
breathe a tone of complaint and discontent very 
different from the usual tenor of Adrian's communi- 
cations with his great protector.* Before long, 
however, either Charlemagne removed the cause of 
dissatisfaction, or the pontiff perceived the impolicy 
of alienating such powerful friendship by fruitless 
importunity and impotent resentment. The acerbity 
of Adrian's style soon mellowed again into more 
genial expressions — his language became once more 
that of praise and benediction ; and Italy remaining 
in peace and security, left the monarch of the Franks 
to oppose his whole force to the inveterate enemies 
who still hovered upon his north-eastern frontier, 
eager for revenge. 

Time for collecting his energies, and opportunity 
to apply them undivided, was now, indeed, absolutely 
necessary to Charlemagne ; for though at the end 
of the last year he had left the Saxons with a more 
reasonable prospect of peace than had ever termi- 
nated any of his former campaigns, that prospect 
was soon destined to be obscured. 

The immense tract of country occupied by the 
Saxons, the warlike habits of the people, and their 
fierce and indomitable courage, while it made even 
their temporary subjection by the Franks extraor- 
dinary, in reality left little hope of their permanent 
tranquillity. The apparent cause of their easy and 
continual overthrow by the armies of Charlemagne 
was their division into various tribes, and their want 
of that unity of purpose which can only be obtained 
by the action of a general and continuous govern- 
ment. The war-kingf of to-day was no longer war- 
king to-morrow ; his military projects ended with his 
command ; and the nation had to adopt new schemes, 
and habituate itself to a new leader, while no fixed! 

* Codex Carolinus, Epist. I. 

T ^haron. Turner, Hist, of Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE 179 

principles in the art of war served to counterbalance 
the constant change of commanders. Had one man 
of great and comprehensive genius appeared, who 
could have held in his hands for a length of time the 
united energies and resources of the people, he 
might at any period have found means to oppose to 
the monarch of the Franks a more equal and steady- 
resistance than had hitherto been attempted. 

Such a man was now rising into light ; and, though 
greatly inferior to Charlemagne in talent, in firm- 
ness, in civilization, and in magnanimity, his powers 
were sufficient to give an entirely new character to 
the Saxon war.* He was a chief of the Westpha- 
lians ; whether duke of the whole of those who took 
that name or only of a tribe is obscure and unim- 
portant. His name, which has come down with 
honour in every history of Germany as that of one 
of the greatest patriots of that time, was Witikind ; 
and to personal couragej warlike abilities, and great 
powers of exertion, he added — as is proved by his 
influence on the minds of his countrymen — the force 
of eloquence and the talent of command. 

During the greater part of the wars which had pro- 
ceded this epoch, we have seen that the campaigns 
on both sides had been little better than devastating 
incursions into the territories of the enemy, wherein 
the Saxons had ever committed the first aggression, 
and fled before they could be strongly opposed. On 
the other hand, the Franks ravaged in retaliation, 
and retired as soon as submission and promises of 
future peace had been wrung from the enemy. Pre- 
vious to the accession of Charlemagne, means of 
retribution, but not of coercion^ had been employed : 
but he, finding that no reliance was to be placed on 
empty vows, had acted on a different principle ; and 
at the termination of each campaign, had taken new 
measures to repress the Saxons, by building for- 

* Eginhard, Annates, 777. 



180 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

tresses beyond his own border ; by which precaution, 
though as yet he pretended no dominion over them, 
he learned the first movements which preceded an 
incursion upon his territory, and broke the force of 
the torrent at its source. In return for continual ag- 
gression and violated promises, he held out frequent 
menaces of total and permanent subjection on the 
next breach of tranquillity ; and in his last expedi- 
tion, after having brought his enemies to his feet, 
he had commenced the erection of a fortified* town 
within their limits. Far from showing any indigna- 
tion at this proceeding, the Saxons — who, with the 
common craft of barbarians, were always profuse to 
meanness in their acts of submission when con- 
quered — had not only given hostages, but, as before 
mentioned, had demanded baptism,! which they 
knew would be pleasing to the victor. 

Not so, however, Witikind, who, unconscious of 
any right but liberty, while he robbed and destroyed 
the property of his neighbours, viewed with insur- 
mountable wrath the least infringement of his own. 
The measures of defence which Charlemagne was 
in a maimer compelled to take he looked upon as 
an ambitious aggression upon the liberties of the 
Saxons ; and no sooner had the winter of A. D. 777 
placed a barrier between his nation and the monarch 
of the Franks, than he stimulated his countrymen 
once more to violate their lately renewed engage- 
ments. 

Before any active efforts coold be made,! the pre- 
cursory movements of the Saxons were communi- 
cated to Charlemagne, and, with his usual promp- 
titude, he marched directly to the point of danger. 
The plans of Witikind being thus disconcerted by 
the rapid energy of the French king, that chief, find- 
ing himself without any force to oppose the immense 
army suddenly led against him, fled into Denmark 

* Annates Petaviani, ann. 776. f See Note III. 

t Eginhard Annates ; Chron. Adonis, 777. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 181 

to seek aid and support from Sigifrid, the Danish 
monarch then reigning. 

In the mean time, the whole Saxon population 
thronged to Charlemagne, and, protesting their in- 
nocence of the plots of Witikind, as well as their 
perfect submission, demanded eagerly the mainte- 
nance of peace. Charlemagne, though probably not 
deceived by the declaration, once more agreed to 
withdraw his army, but, at the same time, only did 
so upon the express condition, that if the Saxons 
again violated their faith they should lose both their 
country and their liberty.* I use the words of Egin- 
hard, and shall not attempt to investigate far whether 
this was a condition which a conqueror had a right 
to demand, or which was any way obligatory upon 
the conquered. It must, indeed, be considered more 
as a threat than a condition ; and it appears to me 
that no measure was unjustifiable that might, in the 
failure of all other means, procure peace lor France 
from a nation which, for two hundred years, had 
kept her frontier provinces in a state of constant 
strife and desolation. 

By this time — although in those days the wings 
of fame were slow and feeble — the renown of the 
monarch of the Franks had penetrated to all the 
quarters of the earth ; and even while repressing 
the turbulent Saxons in the north, the deputies of 
another nation, and of a different religion, came from 
the very opposite extreme of Europe to solicit suc- 
cour and protection. 

These were a body of Saracens from Spain ; and 
a few words must be said in explanation of the state 
of the country from which they were sent, as, on 
their representations, a new war and new conquests 
were undertaken and completed. 

* Annales Eginhard, ann. 777 

Q 



JL82 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 



BOOK V. 

FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SPANISH WAR, TO THE 
INCORPORATION OF SAXONY WITH THE FRENCH DO- 
MINIONS. 

FROM A. D. 777 TO A. D. 780. 

The State of Spain— Charlemagne invited to invade Spain — His Prepara- 
tions — He passes the Pyrenees — Subjection of Arragon and Catalonia 
— Capture of Pampeluna — Battle of Saragossa — Establishment of the 
Spanish March — Charlemagne recalled to the North — Battle of Ronces- 
valles — Ravages committed by the Saxons — Battle of the Adern — 
Internal Regulations of Charlemagne — His Conduct to the Duke of 
Spoleto — Saxony incorporated with France — Retrospect of the Saxon 
War— The Saxon Capitularies. 

A twofold traitor to his religion and his country 
had, about the year 710, courted the Arabs from Af- 
rica into Spain. Whether revenge or ambition was 
the motive is a question of little import here ; it is 
sufficient that Count Julian betrayed his country and 
his God. A divided people and a feeble king on the 
one hand, and a daring commander with a veteran 
host on the other, decided the fate of the Gothic 
throne ; and by the close of the year 714, Spain, 
with the exception of a few remote districts, was 
subdued by the Arabs, from the columns of Hercules 
to the chain of the Pyrenees. The government of 
the conquered country was intrusted to the lieuten- 
ants of the caliphs ; and the spirit of war had then 
so strong an influence on the Arab race, that few of 
the Spanish governors contented themselves with- 
out adding something to that which their predeces- 
sors had acquired. 

The Pyrenees were thus soon passed ; and a short 
time before the close of the Merovingian dynasty in 
France, a considerable portion of the southern dis- 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 183 

tricts of that country was under the Saracen do- 
minion. The celebrated Abderraman, seeking to 
extend his power still farther, fell before the arm of 
Charles Martel; and the Saracens, retiring from 
France, contented themselves with their territories 
in Spain. 

For the space of fifty years, the Iberian peninsula 
remained dependent upon the throne of the caliphs ; 
but domestic dissensions soon began to diminish 
the vigour of the race of Mohammed. A powerful 
faction sprang up against the children of Omar, who 
had for so long possessed the great oriental throne. 
Two bloody battles decided the fate of the caliphat ; 
and a cruel system of extermination destroyed the 
major part of the unfortunate Omaides. 

While the house of Abbas, however, — the greatest 
which ever swayed the sceptre of the East, — estab- 
lished itself firmly in the heart of the Mohammedan 
world, one of the rival race of Omar escaped to 
Spain, where the party of his family was predomi- 
nant ; and about the same period at which the Mero- 
vingian dynasty ended in France, and Pepin assumed 
the throne of that country, Spain separated from the 
dominion of the caliphs, and placed herself under a 
monarch of her own. This state of independence, 
of course, was not established without a contest ; 
but the officer sent against Abdalrahman, now caliph 
of Cordova, was defeated and slain, and the power 
of the new sovereign was confirmed by victory. 
The subjects over whom he was called to reign 
were divided between Jews, Christians, and Moham- 
medans of the two sects of Abbas and Omar. Clem- 
ency and protection were, in general, shown to the 
Christians, and favour and regard to the Jews ; but, 
according to the common course of human feeling, 
the very suspicion of being one of the party of Ab- 
bassides — the heretical usurpers of the caliphat — 
was enough to call down every species of severity 
and intolerance. 



184 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

Besides those Christians who had submitted to 
the Arab yoke, and lived contented under the do- 
minion of their conquerors, a portion of the ancient 
Gothic race still remained unsubdued in the heart of 
the Asturias, strong 1 in bold, free, and independ- 
ent hearts, but weak in number and in means. 
Such were the inhabitants of Spain, when, in the 
heart of Saxony, the monarch of the Franks* was 
visited by one of the Saracen emirs of Arragon, 
praying for protection and redress, and offering to 
hold the whole of his territories from Charlemagne, 
rather than from the crown of Cordova. 

In all revolutions, such as those which had lately 
taken place in Spain, the natural tendency of private 
ambition is to divide the state, rather than to con- 
solidate it. Selfishness, joined with talent, has, in 
all political convulsions, the greatest room for exer- 
tion ; and each man who possesses the power, the 
activity, and the courage to struggle aims at indi- 
vidual independence, if not at general dominion. 
In many instances this took place in Spain ; and we 
find a multitude of petty princes rendering them- 
selves wholly or partially free from the domination 
of the monarchs of Cordova. Whether this desire 
was the motive of Ibn al Arabi,f as the Saracen 
who visited Charlemagne is termed by the annalists, 
or whether he was one of the hated Abbassides, 
whom oppression had driven to revolt, does not ap- 
pear. His vengeance or his ambition, however, 
took larger views than that of his fellows, when it 
led him a thousand miles across a strange and 
Christian country, to seek support from the conquer- 
ing monarch of the Franks. To that monarch he 
held out a prospect of easy victory, extended do- 
minion, and vast advantage ; and his petition met 
with immediate attention. 

* Eginhard, Ann. 777. 

t Ann. Petaviani ; Ann. Eginbard. His name is differently written by 
the different annalists, and is probablv corrupt in all. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 185 

Charlemagne undertook to invade Spain; and it 
must be here remarked, that this was the first war 
in which that great warrior ever engaged, with the 
sole view to conquest. The war of Aquitaine had 
been the act of a sovereign to correct and repress 
a revolted vassal, — that of Saxony, to defend his 
frontier, and punish the aggressors on his land, — 
the invasion of Italy, to fulfil the duties of an office 
he had long before accepted, and to deliver and pro- 
tect a devoted friend. But the Saracens had com- 
mitted no new infringement of the French territory, 
— no old and dear ally was to be defended by his 
expedition, — and, making every allowance on the 
score of Christian zeal,* and the desire of protecting 
the oppressed Goths of Spain, this remains still the 
most unjustifiable war in which Charlemagne was 
ever engaged. But the desire for conquest and aggran- 
dizement, like every other passion of human nature — 
and even more than any other — increases by habit 
and indulgence. Charlemagne had been educated 
to war, and pampered by victory ; yet, through his 
life, his moderation is much more conspicuous than 
his excess. 

In order that no long march might fatigue his 
troops and delay his progress, Charlemagne passed 
the winter in Aquitaine ,f collecting all his forces 
on the frontier he meant to violate. In the spring, 

* Som^ of the late French historians praise this expedition ; call the con- 
quest of Spsiin much more noble and worthy of his regard than that of 
his indomitable enemies the Saxons; represent all that passed in the 
mind of the monarch,— his hesitation to ally himself with Mohammedans, 
and his aspirations for the benefit of the Christians ; and end by calling 
the desires which led him to invade a country with which he had no 
subject of offence, which had never injured him, violated his frontier, or 
oppressed his allies, " religious and humane."(a) The whole account of 
what passed in the mind of Charlemagne on this occasion is a wild 
hypothesis, which is unsupported even by a casual word in contempo- 
rary history ; and the reasoning will appear absurd or not, to every one, 
as they may judge it wisest and best to attack a peaceful neighbour, or to 
repel an armed thief. 

t A. D. 778 ; Ann. Loiseliani. 

(a) Gaillard, Hist, de Charlemagne, vol. i. p. 329l 

Q2 



186 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

as soon as the defiles of the Pyrenees were passable, 
he led one large division of his army through the 
mountains into Spain, and advanced rapidly upon 
Saragossa. At the same time,* a considerable 
force, raised in Burgundy, A ustrasia, and even Lom- 
bardy,f passed the mountains of Roussillon, and 
made themselves masters of Catalonia. Their pro- 
gress and success were rapid and extraordinary; 
and, after taking possession of Barcelona, Huesca, 
Gerona, and other neighbouring towns, they ad- 
vanced across the country, and joined their monarch 
at Saragossa. 

Though the whole of that part of the country is 
highly defensible — though the Arabs of that day 
possessed more military skill and warlike energy 
than perhaps any European nation — and though the 
cities of Arragon and Catalonia were both strongly 
garrisoned and fortified, yet little or no resistance 
was offered by any place except Pampeluna. From 
these circumstances, and from a number of active 
military operations, which were almost immediately 
after undertaken by the Goths of the Asturias, it is 
more than probable that the Mohammedan monarchs, 
embarrassed with doubtful friends and internal ene- 
mies, were unprepared with any sufficient means to 
oppose the formidable army of the invaders. Whe- 
ther the resistance of Pampeluna itself was at all 
vigorous is not distinctly stated in any contempo- 
rary account ; but it may be inferred that the strug- 



* Ann. TilianL; Ann. Petaviani. 

t Whether the imitation was intentional or accidental— whether 
Charlemagne was followed as a prototype, or studied as a master in 
the art of conquest — a great and ambitious man of modern days has left 
behind him a strong resemblance in many of his military actions to the 
monarch of the middle ages. The custom of immediately amalgamating 
a eonquered nation with the legions of the conqueror, and binding the 
two nations together by a union of endeavour and community of glory, 
had been practised before either Charlemagne or Napoleon; but a simi- 
larity in many other respects may be traced, by reading the history of 
each, but with this striking difference, that in the life of Napoleon, indi- 
vidual ambition was the whole, in Charlemagne it was only a part. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 187 

gle* was severe, from the marks of triumph and 
precaution which followed its fall. A medalf was 
struck, to commemorate the capture of the city; 
and the walls were razed to the ground, to guard 
against the consequences of future revolt. 

The rest of Navarre and Arragon was soon 
reduced to submission. Ibn al Arabi| and his com- 
panions were restored to their dominions, whatever 
those dominions were, and,§ giving hostages and 
tribute, rendered themselves in some degree vassals 
of the crown of France. The pledges, either offered 
by Abu Taurus, one of the Saracen emirs, or exacted 
from him, were his brother and his son ; and it is but 
reasonable to suppose that the degree of protection 
granted was in proportion to such a high price as 
the exile of two near and dear relations. 

Garrisons were now placed in particular cities, to 
secure the country which had been Avon; every 
measure of precaution and defence was adopted ; 
and what has been called the " Spanish March," 
comprising a broad band of country, extending along 
the southern foot of the Pyrenees, was added to the 
dominion of Charlemagne. 

It is not easy to say whether the acquisition and 
preservation of this territory by the Frankish mon- 
arch was designed from the first by cautious policy, 
or merely originated in the spirit of conquest. In a 
political point of view, however, it was infinitely 
well judged. The passages of the Pyrenees, which 
had ever been a refuge for the turbulent and treach- 
erous Gascons, were thus secured. A barrier was 



* Ann. Poet. Saxon, ann. 778. 

| It bore, Captd excisdque Pampelond. The Saxon poet is the only 
annalist who marks that the city was forcibly taken, and even he goes 
no further than to say, "id ceperat armis." The Annals of Metz imply 
that Saragossa also resisted ; but the whole detail of these circumstances 
is so very brief in the old historians, that modern writers have been 
obliged to supply the want of facts from the stores of imagination. 

tHe was apparently Emir of Saragossa. 

§ Annates Mettensis ; Chron. Moissiac. 



188 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

placed between them and their old allies, the Sara- 
cens of Spain. The keys of the southern frontier 
of France, which had been heretofore in the hands 
of the Arabs, were thenceforth intrusted to, Charle- 
magne's own subjects ; and while the complete and 
final reduction of the whole of Aquitaine to law and 
submission was ultimately ensured, his Pyrenean 
provinces, from the Gulf of Lyons to the Bay of 
Biscay, were secured from invasion. 

Although the conquest of the Spanish March had 
been easy and nearly unopposed, Charlemagne was 
not suffered ultimately to fix his power in so import- 
ant a district without a struggle. The time he was 
forced to employ in perfecting the various arrange- 
ments for incorporating the acquired territory with 
the rest of France, and in providing for its govern- 
ment, both civil and ecclesiastical, gave room for 
preparation on the part of the Saracens. A large 
army was collected, and poured down into Arragon. 
The Franks* were attacked near Saragossa, but 
after a battle of several hours, in which many thou- 
sands of the Mohammedans were slain, victory 
declared hi favourf of the French monarch; and 
his new dominions in Spain were secured. After 
this success, Charlemagne proceeded calmly to 
complete that regular organization in the state of 
the province which he always endeavoured to intro- 
duce into every country he conquered. But before 
long, the news from his northern frontier became! 
of such a nature as to call him back from the scenety 
before him, with all the rapidity which never failed 

* Recueil des Hist. Franc. D. Bouquet, vol. v. p. 70, Note G. 

■fl have admitted the account of this battle, though it stands only upon 
one authority in regard to the details (Chron. Moissiac, Cod. Reg. D. 
Bouquet, vol. v. p. 70), because every other writer implies that battles 
were fought, though without entering into particulars. 

t Both the Annals of Loisel and those of Eginhard say, that the news 
of the Saxon invasion reached Charlemagne at Auxerre ; but it seems 
certain, as stated by the Chronicle of Moissiac, some information of dan- 
ger on his northern frontier recalled him so hastily from Spain. 

§ Chron. Moissiac. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 189 

to attend his movements on every occasion of im- 
portance. 

Dangers of the most pressing kind were repre- 
sented as threatening the provinces on the Rhine ; 
and the monarch's march was immediately directed 
towards the Pyrenees. Dividing his forces into 
two bodies, he advanced in person at the head of the 
first division, and, for the sake of greater speed in 
his own progress, left all the baggage with the rear- 
guard, which was strong in men, and commanded 
by some of the most renowmed chieftains of his 
army. The names* of Eggiard and Anselm have 
come down to us, together with that of Rolando, or 
Orlando, the nephew of Charlemagne,! as the com- 
manders of the second division, which had to suffer 
much from unforeseen hostility. 

It must be remembered that Lupo Duke of Gas- 
cony, on delivering up his rebellious uncle Hunald, 
had been suffered to retain his duchy, which, from 
its position among the Pyrenean mountains, fully as 
much as its tenure, was but slightly dependent upon 
the crown of France. Lupo was ambitious as well 
as treacherous, and was filled with the same turbu- 
lent and rebellious spirit which had animated his an- 
cestors. The sovereignty of the French monarch 
was alone tolerable so long as it was distant and un- 
exercised ; and tranquillity was only to be expected 
while powerful armies enforced obedience, or sus- 
pended authority left the shadow of independence. 
To a man of such a character the acquisition of a 
large territory on the southern side of the mountains 
by Charlemagne was any thing but agreeable. He 

* Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Mag. cap. ix. 

t He was the son of Milo Count of Angiers, and Bertha sister of 
Charlemagne. The word paladin, or palatine, afterward so common in 
poetry, as the characteristic designation of Charlemagne's warriors, is 
first applied to them on this occasion hy the Saxon poet, who wrote in 
the reign of the Emperor Arnulphus, about seventy years after the death 
of Charles. It was probably adopted from the circumstance of more 
than one count of the palace having fought in the Pyrenees. 



190 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

saw himself surrounded on all sides by the dominions 
of a monarch against whom he eagerly sought an 
opportunity of revolt ; and, with the mad miscal- 
culation of his own powers which had ruined every 
other member of his family, he prepared to offer an 
outrage to his sovereign which could only be pro- 
ductive of temporary advantage to himself, and could 
never be forgiven by the king. It is probable that 
he had only suffered Charlemagne to enter Spain 
without molestation because he had no power of 
opposing him. But when he found that the ravages 
of the Saxons called the monarch imperatively to 
the north, and that the rear-guard of his army, loaded 
with baggage and treasure, was separated from the 
rest of the troops, he resolved* upon an undertaking 
for which punishment seemed remote, and in which 
success was probable, and rapine sure. 

The Pyrenees, extending in a continuous line 
from the Bay of Biscay to the borders of the Medi- 
terranean, rise in a long straight ridge, the superior 
points of which are but a few yards lower than the 
summit of Mont Blanc. In the highest part of the 
chain there are occasional apertures ; and from the 
main body of the mountains long masses of inferior 
hills are projected into the plain country on either 
side, decreasing in height as they proceed, till they 
become imperceptibly blended with the level ground 
around. Between these steep natural buttresses, 
narrow valleys, sometimes spreading out into grand 
basins, sometimes straitened into defiles of a few 
yards in width, wind on towards the only passes 
from one country to another. The roads, skirting 
along the bases of the hills — which, to the present 
day, are frequently involved in immense and track- 
less woods— have always beneath them a mountain 
torrent, above which they are raised, as on a terrace, 
upon the top of high and rugged precipices. A thou- 

* Eginhard, Annales, 778. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 191 

sand difficulties beset the way on every side, and 
nature has surrounded the path with every means of 
ambush and concealment. 

Mounted on heavy horses, and loaded with a com- 
plete armour of iron,* the soldiers of Charlemagne 
returned from their victorious expedition into Spain, 
and entered the gorges of the Pyrenees, without 
ever dreaming that an enemy beset their footsteps. 

The monarch himself,! with the first division of 
his host, was suffered to pass unmolested ; but when 
the second body of the Franks, following leisurely 
at a considerable distance, had entered the wild and 
narrow valley called the Roscida Vallis (now Ron- 
cesvalles), the woods and mountains around them 
suddenly bristled into life, and they were attacked 
on all sides by the perfidious Gascons, whose light 
arms, distant arrows,! and knowledge of the coun- 
try gave them every advantage over their opponents. 

In tumult and confusion, the Franks were driven 
down into the bottom of the pass, embarrassed both 
by their arms and baggage. The Gascons^ pressed 

* Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Mag. cap. ix. 

t On the subject of this defeat almost all the annalists are silent ; 
whether they wrote in the time of Charlemagne himself, or at a period 
when they could no longer offend the feelings of the man, or the vanity 
of the monarch. They in general, on the contrary, represent the Gas- 
cons as defeated, using the expressions, " Wasconen subjvgatos (Ann. 
Tilianiet Loiseliani), subjugatis Wasconibus (Chron. Adonis), Wasconi- 
bus subactis (Ann. Fuldenses). Indeed, I should have imagined, and 
should also have stated, that after the defeat of his rear-guard, Charle- 
magne pursued and overcame the Gascons, had not the statement of 
Eginhard been precise, that the monarch could not take vengeance upon 
his treacherous subjects at that time (Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magn. cap. 
ix.) ; and again, in his Annals, that the Gascons avoided all pursuit 
(Egin. Annates, 778). 

♦ Ann. Poet. Saxonici ; Ann. Eginhard, 778. 

§ I have used the word Gascons alone, because it is evident that the 
Goths of Spain had no share in this battle. Neither did the Saracens 
participate in the victory. The Spanish accounts, which claim the glory 
of having defeated a part of Charlemagne's army, are unworthy of refu- 
tation or notice. The only nation or tribe who have any claim to the 
doubtful honour of having overthrown, by perfidy, a body of brave men, 
taken at a disadvantage, are the Basques, inhabiting a district on both 
sides of the Pyrenees, and still possessing all the agility, without the 
treachery, of their ancestors. 



192 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

them on every point, and slaughtered them like a 
herd of deer, singling them out with their arrows 
from above, and rolling down the rocks upon their 
heads. Never wanting in courage, the Franks 
fought to the last man, and died unconquered. Ro- 
lando* and his companions, after a thousand deeds 
of valour, were slain with the rest ; and the Gascons, 
satiated with carnage, and rich in plunder, dispersed 
among the mountains, leaving Charlemagne to seek 
for immediate vengeance in vain. 

The battle must have been fierce and long, and 
the struggle great, though unequal ; for, during the 
lapse of many centuries, tradition has hung about 
the spot, and the memory of Rolando and his com- 
panions is consecrated in a thousand shapes through- 
out the country. Part of his armour has there 
given name to a flower ;f the stroke of his sword is 
shown upon the mountains ; the tales and supersti- 
tions of the district are replete with his exploits and 
with his fame ; and even had not Ariosto, on the 
slight basis which history affords, raised up the 
splendid structure of an immortal poem, and dedi- 
cated it to the name of Rolando, that name would 
still have been repeated through all the valleys of 
the Pyrenees, and ornamented with all the fictions 
of a thousand years.! 

* The multitude of fables which have been ingrafted on the battle of 
Roncesvalles are too well known to need any particular notice. M. Gail- 
lard loses temper with the English romance writers on the score of 
Arthur, and wishes to prove that they have pilfered largely from the fab- 
ulous annalists of Charlemagne. Mr. Leyden and the Abbe Vellet con- 
found all sorts of historical facts in their reasoning on the romances of 
this period — prove Charles Martel to have been a Breton, make him 
institute an order of knighthood, and bestow the patrimony of St. Peter 
on the pope. Beyond all doubt, however, the first romance written on 
the life of Charlemagne was that falsely attributed to Archbishop Tur- 
pin : but it will be very difficult, I am afraid, to prove its having been 
composed before the twelfth century. 

t The casque de Roland, a species of hellebore, I believe, and the 
br&che de. Roland, a deep fissure in the crest of the Pyrenees. 

X In the last century a chapel stood in the immediate neighbourhood 
of Roncesvalles, which tradition pointed out as the burial-place of the 
chiefs who fell by the treacherous attack of the Gascons. Thirty tombs 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 193 

The news of this disaster soon reached Charle- 
magne, and he immediately paused on his march to 
seek vengeance for the death of his followers. But 
the Gascons had dispersed amid the impenetrable* 
fastnesses of their mountains ; no present enemy was 
to be found ; the Saxons were ravaging the territories 
of France ; and the monarch, with the joy of all his 
Spanish triumphs clouded, was obliged to continue 
his journey towards the north. Other circum- 
stances, however, clearly establish that the per- 
fidious duke of the Gascons was afterward taken, 
and forfeited his life as a punishment for his trea- 
son,! although it is difficult, if not impossible, to 
ascertain at what precise period this retribution was 
accomplished. 

It was some consolation to the French monarch 
to find that the evil consequences which this signal 
defeat of a part of his army might have produced 
-did not follow. Notwithstanding the death of so 
great a number of their conquerors, the Saracen in- 
habitants of Navarre and Catalonia did not attempt 
to throw off the yoke which had been imposed upon 
them. The Spanish March remained for the time 

without inscriptions were to be seen in the vicinity ; and a quantity of 
bones were shown in a cave under the chapel. (See P. Daniel, Hist, de 
France.) At the same lime, it is to be remarked, that traditions can 
never be properly received in history, except to the extent of corrobora- 
tion or elucidation, and are never precise in regard to particular facts. 
The multitude of local traditions concerning the fight of Roncesvalles 
prove the terrific nature, of the struggle and the importance of the event, 
but nothing more. Three places have been pointed out to me as the 
burial-place of Roland,— one at Cordouan, one at Blaye, and one at Bor- 
deaux. What earth is now incorporated with the clay of the hero 
matters not, and is unknown. 

* Eginhard, Annales. 

t This is shown by the charter of Alaon, cited in the Histoire de Lan- 
guedoc of Vaissette. Charlemagne, though punishing the treason of his 
vassal Lupo by (he severest penalty of the law, left to his children a part 
of the territory which their father had enjoyed. This is expressly stated 
to have been misericord iter ; for, according to every custom, his feoff was 
forfeited, as well as his life, in consequence of his rebellion. Mezeray 
says that Lupo was not executed, but deprived of his estates, and sought 
refuge in Spain. He places the era of Lupo"s punishment in 819, prob- 
ably bv mistake. See Abrege Chronologique, vol. iii. p. 298. 

R 



194 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

in tranquillity, and Charlemagne pursued his journey 
towards the north. 

The events which called him from the scene of 
his late conquests were such as admitted no unne- 
cessary delay. His absence during the winter in 
Aquitaine, and his march into Spain, had removed 
from the Saxons* the terror of his immediate neigh- 
bourhood, and had given both time for preparation 
and opportunity of revolt. Such an occasion was 
not lost by a nation whose habit was to wander, 
whose delight was war, and whose occupation was 
pillage. Witikind returned from Denmark almost 
immediately after Charlemagne's departure ; and 
soon, by his eloquence, roused the whole mass of 
his countrymen to throw off the indifference with 
which they had beheld the precautions taken by the 
monarch against their future irruptions. The visit 
of the Saxon chief to the savage courts of the north 
had not tended at all to civilize his mind, or to open 
his eyes to the general principles of equity. Still 
forgetting the aggressions his own nation had com- 
mitted, to him the forts built by the French king 
appeared as fetters on the Saxon people. The act 
of repelling or chastising their irruptions he viewed 
as ambitious encroachment, or triumphant insult; 
and, animated himself by a wild spirit of liberty and 
a desire of vengeance, he found his purpose seconded 
among his countrymen by the predatory habits of 
ages, and the warlike character of barbarism. 

In a short timef the whole of the Westphalians 
were in arms ; and while Charlemagne was still in 
Spain, they were ravaging all the German provinces 
of France, even to the very banks of the Rhine. 
Often as they had invaded the Frankish territory, 
and little as they were accustomed to show mercy, 
their present irruption left all their former ones far 
behind in cruelty and depredation. Nothing was 

* Ann. Tiliani. ann. 779 ; Ann. Loisel. ann. 778 ; Chron. Moiasiac. 
t Chron, Moissiac. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 195 

spared, — neither age, nor sex, nor condition. The 
child was murdered* at the breast, the priest at the 
altar, the peasant by his hearth. Fire and death ac- 
companied them on their way, and ruin and desola- 
tion spread out behind their footsteps. Finding 
that they could not pass the Rhine in safety, they 
ravaged the whole territory from Cologne to Cob- 
lentz. The monks fled from their monasteries, the 
citizens quitted the towns ; nothing resisted their 
approach, nothing survived their passage ; and all 
was confusion and destruction, rapine, massacre, 
and flame. f 

Such were the tidings that every day met the ear 
of Charlemagne, as he advanced from the south of 
France towards the north ; and, finding that he could 
not lead forward his heavier forces with all the ce- 
lerity that the occasion instantly demanded, he des- 
patched his lighter troops from Auxerre, with 
orders to make all speed, and, if possible, to over- 
take the Saxons on the territory of France, that 
their aggression might be punished where it had 
been committed.! The troops chosen for this pur- 
pose were all either of the eastern tribes of Franks, 

* Eginhard, Annates ; Annales Poetae Saxonici. ann. 778; Annales 
Mettensis ; Vit. S. Sturmii. Abb. Fuldensis; Ann. Fuldensis. 

t The wars of Charlemagne against the Saxons have, as I before 
stated, been called unjust, and his severity on one occasion, after many 
years of abused clemency, has been stigmatized as iniquitous cruelty. A 
sickly affectation of humanity has blinded the eyes to a perception of 
justice, and historical truth has been concealed or distorted to favour a 
vain hypothesis. On this account, I subjoin the brief but expressive 
words in which the old annalists relate those outrages which compelled 
Charlemagne to forget the mercy he had extended to the Saxons for 
many years, and, in justice to his own subjects, to terminate the war by 
any means, however severe : " Saxones — ad Duiarn castrum — usque 
vmerunt, ccedibus, rapinis, et incendiis omnia devastantes." — Ann. 
Mettensis, A. D. 77S. " Quicquid a Duiciti civiiate usque ad Jluenta 
Moselles vicorum, villarumque fuit, ferro et igne depopulate sunt. 
Pari modo sacra profanaque pessundata. Nullum aetatis aut sexus 
discrimen ira hostis fecerat."— Eginhzrd, Annales, A. D. 778. 
Non aliquod sexus, cetatis, conditionis 
Ullius, furor immitis discrimen agebat. 
Omnia sed/errum, vel edax consumpserat ignis." 
Annales Poetae Saxonici. 

X Annal. Eginhard. 



196 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

or of the German* tributaries, whose lands and 
dwelling-places were the first on every occasion to 
fall a prey to the Saxon invasions. Every personal 
inducement to speed, therefore, was added to the 
injunction of the monarch; but ere their arrival, 
the enemy, sated with blood and gorged with plunder,, 
were once more returning to their native country. 

Thus the Frankish army, notwithstanding the 
rapidity with which it always moved, did not suc- 
ceed in coming up with the retreating Saxons till 
they had traversed the greater part of Hesse ; but 
at the moment the plunderers were crossing the river 
Adern, they found themselves assailed by the forces 
of Charlemagne. The very act of pursuing gave 
impetus to the Franks ; while national hatred and 
individual revenge added the energy of passion to 
the vigour of constitutional courage. At the same 
time, the Saxons were already retreating— an act 
which too often degenerates into flight. They had 
accomplished their object ; were loaded with spoil ; 
the sloth of satiety hung upon their actions ; their 
own country was before their steps, and escape was 
too near for resistance to be vigorous. 

Thus, while they were embarrassed with the pas- 
sage of the river, the Frankish cohorts poured in 
upon them A feeble resistance but added to the 
slaughter ;f and very few survived to carry to their 
own country tfcp tidings of their successful irruption, 
their retreat, and their defeat. 

To fight and conquer in two far-separated coun- 
tries within the space of a few months was common 
to the Franks under the command of Charlemagne ; 
but a long campaign in Spain, and a march of nearly 
twelve hundred miles, had so far exhausted the year 
that no further movement could be made against the 
Saxons till the return of spring. 

The other events which may be traced to this year 

* Annal. Mettensis. 

t AunalesLoiseliana; Chron.Moissiac; Annales Eginhard. A.D.778. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 197 

now call our attention to the civil government of 
Charlemagne, — an object, when considered in refer- 
ence to the age in which he lived, far more interest- 
ing and extraordinary than all his great military- 
operations. During the active scenes in which he 
had been lately engaged — the continual movement 
and incessant occupation in which he had existed — 
no part of his vast territories was neglected ; and 
his eyes were alternately turned with careful atten- 
tion to Italy, to Germany, and to France. 

Ascending the throne in a barbarous period, when 
internal policy was perfectly in its infancy, and the 
whole mechanism of society rude and irregular,* 
Charlemagne could not be expected to change, by 
the simple power of his own mind, the constitution 
of his whole race, rekindle in an instant the extin- 
guished light of past ages, or hurry into maturity the 
whole fruits of coming years. The performance of 
such a task was not within the grasp of human facul- 
ties ; but what he did do, when joined with the cir- 
cumstances in which he was placed — surrounded on 
every side by darkness, superstition, and prejudices, 

* I have been led into this imperfect defence of Charlemagne's internal 
administration from a passage in Gibbon. "They (his laws) compose 
not a system, but a series of occasional and minute edicts, for the cor- 
rection of abuses, the reformation of manners, the economy of his farms, 
the care of his poultry, and even the sale of his eggs, &c." — and again, 
in a note, "Yet Schmidt, from the best authorities, represents the inte- 
rior disorders and oppressions of his reign." The portion of Mr. Gib- 
bon's work in which this appears does not reflect the greatest lustre 
upon his name as an historian. Had he really, on the present occasion, 
compared the garbled accounts of the modern historians whom he cites 
with the original authorities, he would have found that, amid misstate- 
ments and errors innumerable, the oppressions and disorders of the 
reign of Charlemagne do not amount to what the assizes of a petty 
county town in England can produce ; and had he chosen to reason, 
rather than sneer, he would have perceived that though the mind of that 
monarch did not suffice at once to dispel the darkness of four hundred 
years, yet it enlightened all that it touched, corrected the abuses of 
his age, and cast back for a century the load of barbarism that was 
falling fast upon the world. The interior disorders and oppressions 
represented by Schmidt, upon careful perusal, I find to be derived, with 
scarcely an exception, not from the reign of Charlemagne, but from that 
of Louis le Debonaire and not. even then, from the earlier part of that 
reign. 

R2 



198 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

and having- to vanquish them all — shows him as 
great a conqueror in the moral as in the physical 
world ; and raises him to the highest pitch of human 
grandeur, by evincing that he not only overcame the 
barbarians of his time, but also overcame the bar- 
barism itself. 

Whatever were the warlike undertakings in which 
the monarch was engaged, and whatever were the 
immense demands upon his time and attention, no 
evil to his fellow-creatures which was brought before 
him ever passed without notice and correction, — 
no effort to purify and improve the state of society 
was forgotten. We find instances to justify this 
assertion in every part of his reign ; but at the pres- 
ent period a great occasion for exertion and remon- 
strance presented itself, and was not neglected, 
although that remonstrance was necessarily directed 
against an authority for which he strove to incul- 
cate respect, and towards which he always set the 
example of due reverence. 

While in the midst of his preparations for the war 
in Spain, information was by some means conveyed 
to him that the odious traffic in slaves was per- 
mitted in Rome ; and not a few complaints reached 
him about the same time, concerning the irregulari- 
ties of the Italian clergy. To both these points his 
attention was immediately directed; and a strong 
remonstrance was addressed by him to Pope Adrian, 
pressing the reformation of the abuses which were 
said to exist. Adrian* immediately replied, and, in 
the most positive terms, assured Charlemagne that 
no such trade in slaves was carried on between the 
Romans and the Saracens as had been asserted. 
The Lombards, he said, it was true, were in the 
custom of selling slaves by means of the Greeks 
who frequented their ports, — a custom which he 
had in vain attempted to prevent. The lives, also, 

* Codex Carolinus, Epist. Ixv. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 199 

of the priests under his own inspection he boldly 
defended, and declared that their accuser had calum- 
niated them basely by the charge he had brought 
against them. 

Whether this explanation proved satisfactory to 
the monarch or not does not appear ; but the terms 
of Charlemagne's letter sufficiently evince that he 
still considered Rome as under his sovereign do- 
minion ; and the reply of Pope Adrian equally proves 
his submission to the jurisdiction of the patrician. 
Various other matters of civil polity occupied the 
attention of the monarch of the Franks about this 
time ; and he had an opportunity of displaying his 
clemency and moderation in a manner which changed 
a doubtful vassal into a firm and attached friend. 
Not long after the return of Charlemagne from Spain, 
Hildebrand Duke of Spoleto* — who had been one 
of the first in the conspiracy of the Duke of Friuli, 
but who had remained at once unpunished and un- 
pardoned — trusting to the character of the sovereign, 
visited his court in France, and, with magnificent 
presents, renewed the homage he had cast off. 
His rebellion, which had never proceeded to open 
warfare, was immediately forgotten in this volun- 
tary act of confidence. His gifts were accepted, 
but returned by others in full proportion ; and, after 
being entertained with splendour at the court of the 
monarch, he was dismissed to his own land a grate- 
ful and faithful subject. 

Before joining the forces which were in active 
preparation for renewing the war against the Saxons, 
Charlemagne also issued a new capitulary, contain- 
ing a variety of important laws on various subjects, 
some regulating the proceedings of the church, some 
affecting the duties of the various judges, and some 
regarding the people in general. f The absence of 
all classification is the great want observable in these 

* Annates Loiseliani; Ann. Mettensis, A. D. 779. 
t Capitular. Car. Mag. ann. 779. 



SGO HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

laws, and is the strongest symptom of the barbarism 
of the age. Various efforts, however, to overcome 
that barbarism are likewise to be noticed. Though 
considerable power is still intrusted to the clergy, 
several rules are laid down for the purpose of en- 
forcing regularity in their lives.* The privilege of 
screening offenders found worthy of death, which 
has been so often claimed by the church, is formally 
rejected by the voice of the monarch;! while a law 
against the exportation of armsj shows how much 
Charlemagne was obliged to look upon his nation as 
a military people. 

As soon as the season permitted, Charles was 
once more at the head of his army ; and, entering 
Saxony, he passed by the spot where the idol Irmin- 
sul had once stood, but which was now covered by 
a growing town,§ and advancing towards the Lippe, 
prepared to take signal vengeance of his incorrigible 
enemies. At first, the Saxons displayed a strong 
disposition to trust to the force of arms, rather than 
once more appeal to the clemency they had so often 
abused ; and at a place called Bucholtz,|| the situa- 
tion of which is now unknown, their army was drawn 
up, to oppose the farther progress of the French 
monarch. The sight of the multitude of their ene- 
mies, however, shook their courage as the battle 
was about to close, and, while only a few had fallen 
on either side, the Saxons fled precipitately, leaving 
the path open to Charlemagne.^" This flight was 
but a prelude to submission ; and, proceeding rapidly 
through the country, the French sovereign, accord- 
ing to his custom,** abandoned his more hostile in- 
tentions, on the prayers and promises of his ene- 
mies. More unconditional submission, however, 
was demanded Of the Saxons after their last aggres- 

* Capitular. Car. Mag. arm. 779, cap. 1, 2, 3. f Cap. 8. 

t Cap. 20. § Vit. S. Sturmii. Abb. Fuldensis. • 

|| Ann. Eginhard ; Ann. Mettensis ; Ann. Loiseliani. 

IF Ann. Poet. Saxon. 779. ** More suo, the Chronicle of Ado says. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 201 

sion, and Charlemagne began to treat them as a con- 
quered people, after having in vain attempted to put 
a stop to their irruptions while they retained their 
independence. About this time the general division 
of the whole country into bishoprics, abbacies, and 
presbyteries took place.* Such of the clergy of 
France as zeal or ambition prompted to accept the 
dangerous trust were appointed to the new cures 
thus created ; and Charlemagne only left the country 
to return the next year and complete the arrange- 
ments which he had begunf for incorporating Saxony 
with the Frankish monarchy. 

The greater part of the annals of that day were 
composed by monks and ministers of the church, 
who, of course, attempted to magnify the affection 
of the Frankish king towards the body of which 
they were members, with the purpose of holding 
out both an example and an incitement to others. 
Nevertheless, it is evident that Charlemagne was 
inspired by a sincere love for the Christian religion, 
and an eager wish to spread its pacific doctrines 
amid his barbarous and intractable neighbours. Nor 
was it, as has been often falsely said, by the sword 
that he sought to convert. With the sword he over- 
came his enemies, and punished the pertinacious 

* Vit. S. Sturmii, Abbat. Fuldensis ; Chron. Moissiac. 

t Monsieur Gaillard states that Charlemagne remained all that year, 
and a great part of the next, in Saxony. The matter, indeed, is of little 
importance, for that great monarch could as easily regulate the internal 
affairs of France from the limits of Saxony, as if he had been in the 
heart of his own dominions. However, as facts should not be misstated 
for any purpose, it may be as well to remark, that Eginhard in his An- 
nals, the Annals of Metz, the Annales Loiseliani, and Tiliani. and the 
Chronicle, of Moissiac agree in stating that he returned to Worms, and 
there spent several months. It may not be amiss to point out, also, that 
the account of the resistance of the Saxons at Bucholtz, as given by the 
author I have mentioned above, who calls it une grande bataille, is not 
borne out by contemporary history. The only detailed account is given 
by the Saxon annalist, who says that the Saxons, terrified by the number 
of the Franks, fled immediately : the other annalists merely say, that the 
Saxons wicked to resist {voluerunt resistere), but fled ; and "Eginhard 
precisely stales, that Charlemagne never encountered them but twice iu 
pitched battle both of which occasions took place afterward. 



202 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

assailants who had so often ravaged his dominions 
and slaughtered his subjects. But the very desire 
of sparing the sword made him the more eager in 
the propagation of that religion which he hoped 
would remove the causes that compelled its use; 
and the work of conversion he intrusted, not to 
soldiers, but to the ministers of the gospel. If he 
did, indeed, mingle on any occasion the means of 
worldly policy with the purer methods of religious 
persuasion, it was in the shape of gifts, presents, and 
menaces,* — inducements more within the compre- 
hension of the barbarians whom he sought to civil- 
ize than any that could be afforded by reason and 
argumentation. 

Though personally successful to a great degree, 
and seeing his power and reputation increasing in 
every manner, Charlemagne was visited in his do- 
minions by many of those calamities which, from 
time to time, in the course of nature, affect whole 
countries and nations. f Tremendous earthquakes 
shook his Lombard kingdom during the year of 
which I speak, cast down many of the finest build- 
ings., and spread death and ruin through the land. 
A pestilence devastated the country and the cities, 
and a severe scarcity added to the horrors of the 
time. Terror and dismay reigned through the 
whole of France ; and prayers and alms % were the 
resources of the king and the peasant, the warrior 
and the churchman, in order to turn away the Al- 
mighty wrath, and obtain mercy from on high. 

Thus passed the winter of the year 779-80, and 
early in the spring he returned to Saxony, and com- 
pleted the subjection of the country. § He had 
warned the Sjvxoiis, in 777, that in case of any new 
outrage he w juld exercise the full power which h© 

* Vit. S.Sturmii. 

t Chron. Moissiac. ; Chron. S. Galli. A. D. 779. 

J Capital. Baluz. torn. i. p. 199. 

§ Eginhard Ann. ; Ann. Loiseliani. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 203' 

possessed, and deprive them of their independence ; 
and he was now proceeding in the execution of that 
threat. It is to be remarked, however, that the 
total subjugation of Saxony, as far as we can dis- 
cover from the contemporary writers, was by no 
means (as has been since represented) a blow struck 
at once, in the pride of victory, and the spirit of 
aggrandizement, conceived long before, and pursued 
through a series of unrelenting wars. On the con- 
trary, it was slow and gradual, as Charlemagne found 
himself compelled to take progressive measures 
against his savage neighbours, — measures suggested 
by the great principle of self-defence, and executed 
with calm and clement reluctance. 

I may be permitted to collect into one view the 
facts connected with this warfare, as they are spread 
through the preceding pages, when it will be found, 
that had he been so inclined, a thousand opportuni- 
ties of taking possession of Saxony presented them- 
selves, which he never showed any inclination to 
use, further than his own security rendered neces- 
sary. In his first campaign against the Saxons, 
though he destroyed the idols that he found on his 
march, he granted peace to the nation as soon as 
they demanded it, merely taking twelve hostages, 
and raising a fort at Eresburg, to guard against their 
future incursions. On their next irruption, he left 
another body of French troops at Sigisburg, and re- 
quired a more comprehensive oath before he with- 
drew his forces. During this time he had never 
desisted from his endeavour to civilize the Saxons, 
by sending missionaries among them ; and his desire 
of converting them to Christianity appeared so evi- 
dent as to become a means of fraud in the hands of 
the barbarians themselves. The next cause of war- 
fare was the Saxon attack upon the garrisons he had 
placed in the two castles ; and being once more con- 
quered, the assailants again supplicated peace, and 
many, to obtain it, demanded to be baptized. Charle- 



204 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

magne added a third fortress to those he had before 
constructed, and once more retired from the country. 
Finding that he had scarcely passed the frontier 
when his enemies actively prepared to attack him 
again, the monarch of the Franks frustrated all their 
schemes by marching into the heart of the land be- 
fore their plans were mature. Witikind, the insti- 
gator of the war, fled ; and the nation completely 
submitted, generally seeking baptism as the strongest 
proof of their pacific intentions. Charlemagne 
trusted them once more ; but he gave them full warn- 
ing, that if they again violated the treaties they had 
entered into with him, he would not only inflict the 
temporary chastisement of a hostile invasion, but 
would use the right of conquest, which he had 
hitherto disregarded, and deprive them of that inde- 
pendence which they so constantly abused to his 
detriment. No sooner had he entered Spain than 
the treacherous people, who crouched to the earth 
at his presence, took instant advantage of his ab- 
sence to destroy his provinces and massacre his 
subjects. The indignant monarch returned, and, 
marching through Saxony as a victor, he now an- 
nexed that country to his former dominions as a con- 
quered province. 

The next year he advanced at once to the junction 
of the Elbe and the Ocker ;'* and having spent some 
time in taking precautionary measures against any 
invasion by the neighbouring nations of the north, 
he proceeded to enact a variety of laws for the regu- 
lation of the barbarous people he had subdued ; which 
laws have been made the subject of extravagant 
praise for a few points of superior excellence, and 
of ridiculous censure for severity susceptible of great 
extenuation, if not justification. The samef want 
of classification is observable in their construction 
which affects most of the capitularies of the age, 

* Ann. Loiseliani, A. D. 780 ; Eginhard. in Annal. 
t Capit. Saxon. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 205 

and a tinge of barbarism spreads over them all ; but 
I doubt much whether barbarous laws are not neces- 
sary to a barbarous nation ; and whether Charle- 
magne, believing such to be the case, did not, like 
the great Greek legislator, frame for the people he 
had conquered, not the best laws which the mind 
of man could devise, but the best which could be 
adapted to the circumstances of the country. Charle- 
magne had found, by long and painful experience, 
that the only principle which could restrain the 
Saxons was fear ; and, accordingly, the code which 
he addresses to them is that of terror. Death is 
awarded for a thousand crimes, but especially for 
offering human sacrifices, and for refusing, or aban- 
doning, or insulting the Christian religion. 

The Saxons, during the last two or three cam- 
paigns, had almost universally received baptism ; 
but in many instances they returned to the most 
hateful rites of idolatry, which was always the sure 
precursor of outrage and irruption. Both from 
political and religious motives, it had become the 
great object of the French monarch to force this the 
most obdurate race of pagans in Europe to listen to 
the voice of Christian teachers, which nothing but 
the fear of death could induce them to do ; and for 
that purpose he used the terror of extreme punish- 
ment as a means of enforcing attention to the doc- 
trines of peace. But, at the same time, there can- 
not be a doubt that he had no intention the severity 
of the law should have effect ; for it was enacted by 
the self-same code that the unbaptized who received 
baptism, and the relapsed who returned and under- 
went a religious penance, escaped the infliction of 
the punishment. By this means he forced the Saxons 
to hear, at least, the doctrines of the Christian 
church, and to become accustomed to its forms, — 
the first great step, without which conversion could 
never be obtained. By this means, also, he at once 
put a stop to the human sacrifices which continually 

S 



206 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

disgraced the land ; and he offered to all the power 
of escaping punishment and gaining security. 

It is true, as a general principle, that laws should 
never be enacted unless they are intended to be 
enforced ; but this was an individual instance, where 
the object was but temporary. If he could compel 
the Saxons to hear the truths, and habituate them to 
the influence, of the Christian faith, Charlemagne 
never for a moment doubted that their sincere con- 
version must follow. That conversion once ob- 
tained, and the laws were not cruel, for they were 
ineffectual. In the mean time, however, their opera- 
tion would be great before the Saxons discovered 
that they were not rigidly enforced. At all events, 
it is evident that Charlemagne believed that his ob- 
ject would be gained by terror long ere the rude 
pagans for whom he legislated perceived that pun- 
ishment was remote. For this great purpose he 
framed the laws to which I refer, and made use of 
the only influence which he knew to be strong 
with the Saxons, — the influence of fear ; while, at 
the same time, the natural benevolence of his own 
heart induced him to guard severity by mercy, and 
to add a law which, while it offered the means of 
escape from the harshness of the others, tended to 
the same object. 

Such considerations shield the Saxon code from 
the bitter censures which have been directed against 
it by some writers ; but at the same time the lavish 
praises which it has received from others are equally 
inapplicable ; for, though it was intended in mercy 
and directed with wisdom, it was arbitrary in char- 
acter, and in principle unjust. 

No sooner was the regulation of Saxony com- 
pleted than the monarch turned his eyes in another 
direction, and prepared to avert a storm that was 
approaching from a different quarter. Though con- 
stitutionally fond of war, and now habituated to 
conquest, Charlemagne, in general, took every means 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 207 

to prevent the necessity of having recourse to arms. 
Sometimes, it is true, he suffered himself to be 
dazzled with the prospect of brilliant expeditions ; 
and, as in the case of the invasion of Spain, the 
prayers of others for protection and assistance, by 
offering a fair excuse to his natural inclination, occa- 
sionally overcame the better spirit of generous mod- 
eration which taught him to refrain. But wherever 
the probable war was likely to be one in which, as 
a sovereign, he was to act against a rebellious vas- 
sal, — one, in short, of revolt and punishment, — 
Charlemagne, if the danger could be foreseen, ever 
endeavoured to stop it in its progress, before folly had 
been hurried into crime, and while pardon was com- 
patible with justice. 

Such views now called him into Italy ; and as soon 
as the state of Saxony appeared finally settled, he 
took his departure for his Lombard dominions. 



BOOK VI. 



FROM THE INCORPORATION OF SAXONY, TO THE HOMAGE 
OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA. 

FROM A. D. 780 TO A. D. 782. 

Conspiracies of the Family of Desiderius— Charlemagne proceeds to 
Pavia— State of Italy— Aquitaine and Italy raised into separate King- 
doms, in Favour of Louis and Pepin— Changes in the State and Policy 
of Greece— Alliance of Irene and Charlemagne— State of Great Bri- 
tain—Charlemagne visited by Alcuiu— The French Monarch returna 
from Italy— Submission of Tassilo Duke of Bavaria. 

Although the sceptre of Lombardy had been 
snatched from the hand of Desiderius, and though 
he himself remained in the ecclesiastical seclusion 
from which he was never destined to be withdrawn, 
many members of his family still existed at large, 



208 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

spread over various parts of Europe ; and the desire 
of vengeance, naturally fostered by affection for a 
fallen relation, and humiliated pride, was only re- 
strained by the terror of the conqueror's arms. 
Adalgisus, the son of the dethroned monarch, con- 
tinued to reside at Constantinople ; and though, at 
the time, no efficient aid was granted to him by the 
imperial court, yet a favourable opportunity only 
seemed wanting to a renewal of the attempt to 
recover possession of Italy. 

One of the daughters of Desiderius had married 
Ariohis Duke of Beneventum, and viewed, with 
unabated and unextinguishable hatred, the dominion 
of the Franks, in a land which had once been the 
portion of her family. At the same time,* the high 
qualities and warlike character of her husband 
rendered revolt probable, and success not unhopeful. 
A second daughter of the dethroned King of Lom- 
bardy shared the ducal seat of Tassilo of Bavaria, 
whom I have before had occasion to mention as a 
relation and vassal of Charlemagne, and upon whose 
proud spirit the weight of homage lay an uneasy 
load, which he endeavoured to make light by neglect, 
while he only waited occasion to throw it off for 
ever. 

The mission of Saint Sturmius, in the early part 
of the French monarch's reign, had effected! a recon- 
ciliation between the king and his cousin, upon whose 
head the open violation of his vows to Pepin had 
brought down the more terrible anger of Charle- 
magne. After that period, the immense power and 
the continual activity of his liege lord had withheld 
Tassilo from making an attempt to which triumphant 
success could alone secure impunity. It would 
appear, however, that about the present time, insti- 
gated by the revengeful spirit of his wife, and by his 

* Erchempertus, Hist. Langobard. Benevent ; Chron. Anonym. Sa» 
lernatani. 
t Vit. S. Sturmii, D. Bouquet, Recueil, torn. v. 






HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 209 

own proud desire of independent sovereignty, he 
engaged* with Arichis Duke of Beneventum, and 
with Adalgisus, their brother-in-law, for the purpose 
of wresting Italy from the grasp of Charlemagne, 
and of establishing an armed union sufficient to resist 
the power of their mighty opponent. 

These schemes were carried on in darkness and 
secrecy; for the conspirators well knew that the 
watchful eyes of Charlemagne could only be blinded 
by the most cautious prudence ; but, at the same 
time, long, slow, and careful preparation was neces- 
sary, to afford the slightest prospect of success. 
With hostile purposes labouring at the heart, and 
great and powerful designs advancing towards con- 
summation, it is very difficult so to guard every 
action that some suspicious circumstances will not 
betray, to an attentive observer, the plans which 
occupy the breast. Neither Tassilo nor Arichis was 
capable of such perfect dissimulation as entirely to 
cover their schemes from the view of the French 
monarch. The first continued to absent himself 
from the court of the sovereign ; and the proceedings 
of the latter, which were more bold and open, were 
from time to time communicated to Charlemagne by 
the wakeful attention of Pope Adrian. f 

At the period of the pestilence referred to in the 
last book, the Prankish monarch, according to the 
spirit of the age, had, with sincere faith, vowed a 
pilgrimage to some of the holy shrines in Italy :| the 
execution of which vow now concealed the political 
object he proposed to obtain at the same time. This 
object, and the effort which he made to conceal it, 
were of a very different character from the usual 
policy of courts. His presence in Italy had become 
absolutely necessary ; but he sought not to march 
with armies to chastise rebels, while there was a 

* Eginhard. Ann. ; Chron. Sigiberti ; Mon. Gemblacens. A. D. 780. 
t Codex Carolin. Epist. lxiv. 
t Ann. Mettens. ; Ann. Fuldens. ; Ann. Eginhard 
S2 



210 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

possibility of reclaiming them by milder means ; 
and he determined to use all his own influence, both 
as a sovereign and relation, and to employ all the 
growing power of the Church of Rome, in order to 
recall Tassilo of Bavaria to his duty, before he 
suffered his full knowledge of the incipient rebellion 
to appear. 

This purpose, as well as that of overawing the 
Duke of Benevtirtum by his presence, and of guard- 
ing the kingdom of Italy from the civil commotions 
by which it was threatened, acted, beyond doubt, as 
a strong inducement to lead Charlemagne towards 
Lombardy. But there were also other motives, 
which were equally powerful with a monarch whose 
native feelings of piety were strong and sincere, and 
whose devotion, though tempered and elevated by a 
vast and vigorous understanding, found no course 
open but through the common superstitions of the 
day. To offer up his prayers at spots which the 
church had pronounced holy, and to see his children* 
baptized by the living representative of the apostle, 
were probably among the motives, rather than the 
pretences, of Charlemagne's journey into Italy. 
Nor did the desire of seeing the royal consecration 
— which, in his own case, had been practised, to give 
weight to his right of succession — repeated in the 
persons of his sonsf Louis and Carloman, add slightly 
to the inducements. 

Leaving Pepin, his natural son, and Charles, the 

* Chron. Moissiac ; Ann.Mettens. 

t The children of Charlemagne were borr. in the following order: 

Pepin— Uncertain date, of Himiltruda the concubine. 

Charles— 772 A. D., of Hildegarde. 

Rotruda— 773. 

Adslais— 774. Died in infancy. 

Bertha— 775. 

Carloman— 776. Afterward named Pepin. 

Louis and Lothaire, twins— 778. Lothaire died in infancy.' 

Gis'a— 781. 

Hildegarde— 783. Died in infancy. 

Theoderada— Of Fastrada. 

Hiltruda. 

Rothaida— Unknown. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 211 

heir of the French throne, at Worms,* Charlemagne 
set off for Pavia,f late in the year 780, accompanied 
by his queen and the rest of his children. On his 
arrival in Italy, the monarch found that country in a 
state of turbulence and agitation, which offered 
little prospect of any permanent tranquillity. The 
disorganization which had taken place after the fall 
of the Roman empire still operated in its conse- 
quences. The instability of all institutions, which a 
countless succession of invasions and subjections 
had induced, was now followed by a frantic thirst for 
change, and an impatience of all regularity. The 
jarring elements of a mixed population, consisting 
of a thousand different tribes and nations, assimi- 
lated ill together ; and, in society, a chronological gra- 
dation of conquerors and vanquished gave a gradual 
increase of hatred from the Roman to the Frank. 
The nobles were each waiting in gloomy expecta- 
tion for some new revolution, which might call them 
into activity, and give them independence. The 
people, suffering under all, were careless of whose 
yoke they bore. The inhabitants of the Tyrol had 
resisted, and both blinded and cast out the bishop, 
whom the pope had sent to claim the feoffs which 
Charlemagne had granted to the see of Rome ; Ter- 
racina,| Naples, and Calabria were more or less 
attached to the Eastern empire ; the Duke of Bene- 
ventum was secretly leagued with the enemies of 
the Franks; the Greeks infested the outskirts of the 
land ; and the Saracens commanded the seas.§ 

Such was the state of the country when Charle- 
magne arrived in Italy. The loss of their separate 



* Ann. Fuldensis; Ann. Mettensis; Ann. Loiseliani. 

t The Annals of Eginhard say, in general terms, that the monarch 
was accompanied by his children; but as the Chronicle of Moissiac de- 
clares that he left his two elder sons at Worms, and as no mention is 
made anywhere else of their presence in Italy, we may conclude that 
they did not follow their fathe r thither. 

t Codex Carolinus, Epist. lvii. 

$ Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magni. ; Codex Carolinus, Epist. lxiv. 



212 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

existence as a people was undoubtedly one cause 
of discontent among its mixed population ; but the 
monarch of the Franks had already determined to 
divide Italy from his hereditary dominions, and to 
raise it into a distinct kingdom, as the portion of 
one of his sons. In this determination it is prob- 
able that he was influenced nearly as much by the 
habits of his nation, and by the prejudices of educa- 
tion, as by the desire of soothing the pride of the 
Italians, in rendering their country once more a 
separate state. 

When the territory they possessed had been much 
smaller, the kings of France had been invariably in 
the custom of allotting it, with capricious irregular- 
ity, among their children. This had been always 
practised at the death, and sometimes during the life, 
of the monarch, though, in the latter case, we do not 
easily discern under what limitations the power so 
intrusted by the father was exercised by the son. 
Now that countries and kingdoms had been added, 
in the short space of twelve years, to the vast 
dominions he had received from his progenitor, the 
idea naturally presented itself to the mind of Charle- 
magne of apportioning to his children different dis- 
tricts of that immense and increasing empire, which 
already required energies almost superhuman to rule 
and consolidate as a whole. The division that he 
proposed on the present occasion was destined to 
convey the sovereignty of Italy to his second son, 
Carloman,* while Aquitaine became the portion of 
Louis, at that time the youngest of his family ; and 
the rest of the monarch's hereditary dominions was 
reserved to form a kingdom for the eldest of his le- 
gitimate children, Charles. Saxony, at the same 
time, remained unappropriated, and might be left to 
provide for those future claims which the sovereign'.? 

* €hron. Moissiac ; Ann. Loiseliani ; Ann. Tiliani. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 213 

age and the fecundity of his wife rendered likely to 
arise. 

All the children of Charlemagne were still in their 
youth, and therefore the motives of their consecra- 
tion could only be, in the first place, the solemn rati- 
fication of his design, in order to guard against con- 
tention at a future period; and, in the next place, the 
desire of satisfying both the Italians and the people 
of Aquitaineby the certain prospect of regaining, in 
a great degree, their territorial independence. 

While thus busily employed in endeavouring to 
render his dominion as easy as possible, even to the 
prejudices of the people who had fallen under his 
sway, Charlemagne took every means to guard 
against external enemies. One of his principal 
cares in Italy was to secure that kingdom from the 
attempts of the Greeks ; and so formidable was the 
aspect which his power assumed, that the policy of 
the court of Constantinople began to change towards 
him. Various circumstances, however, had oc- 
curred in the East to alter entirely the views of the 
imperial government. 

Leo TV., a monarch feeble in body and in mind, 
had befriended Adalgisus, the son of the dethroned 
Lombard, and had loaded him with promises, which 
he found easy to utter, but laborious to execute. 
Still, he had undoubtedly designed to serve him ; 
and, at all events, the recent memory of dominion 
in Italy did not suffer the emperor to see the in- 
creasing power of Charlemagne in that country 
without jealous, though impotent, hatred. Such 
feelings had influenced the policy of the empire 
during the whole reign of Leo, but his death, which 
occurred in September, A. D. 780, immediately 
changed the aspect of the Eastern world.* By the 
choice, or with the consent, of his father Constan- 
tine, Leo had espoused a beautiful Athenian girl, of 

* Gibbon's Decline and Fall, chap, xlviii. 



214 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

the name of Irene, — a name equally famous for 
talents and for crimes. Charms of person and art 
of manner, together with much original and much 
acquired talent, completely ruled a feeble and dying 
monarch ; and Leo, at the gates of the tomb,* left 
to his young and beautiful wife the sole care of his 
child, Constantine VI., and the government of that 
vast but decayed empire which was all that re- 
mained of the world of the Cesars. 

Before ambition had time to nourish crime, or 
opposition could call it into energy, Irene displayed 
nothing but genius for empire, and powers fitted for 
command. There were, however, various weak- 
nesses in her character, which sometimes strangely 
opposed, and sometimes as strangely blended with, 
her policy. Among these weaknesses was super- 
stition ; and this principle acted with others in ren- 
dering her views, both in regard to Italy and to 
France, very different from those either of her hus- 
band or of his predecessor. The Athenians, her 
countrymen, had always been among the most strenu- 
ous supporters of that worship of images, the pro- 
scription of which by Leo III. and Constantine V. 
had been the cause of the revolt of Italy from the 
dominion of the East. Irene herself was one of the 
most devoted adorers of the saintly statues; and 
consequently beheld in the conduct of the popes, 
who had anathematized their contemners, nothing 
but a generous indignation and a holy zeal. During 
the life of her husband,! forced to conceal her full 
sentiments, she had contrived at least to moderate 
the iconoclastic spirit which Leo IV. had derived 
from his ancestors ; and no sooner had the reins of 
government fallen into her own hands, than she 
showed the most evident intention of restoring the 
worship of images, and of retaliating their persecu- 
tions upon the heads of the iconoclasts. Thus the 

* A. D. 780. t Gibbon, chap. xlix. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 215 

great cause of separation between the East and the 
West was removed ; and, both powerful and politic, 
Irene no longer treated the people of Italy as re- 
bellious subjects. She regarded the monarch of the 
Franks, also, in a very different light from her pre- 
decessors ; and sought his friendship rather than 
his enmity, especially while her reign was con- 
tinually threatened by the factions of her husband's 
brothers.* 

Italy, it must be remarked, was not so wholly 
separated yet from the empire of the East as to 
preclude the possibility of a reunion. No new em- 
peror of the West had been chosen ; the monarch 
of the Franks was but Patrician of Rome, an office 
which had existed under the emperors ; and whether 
Irene contemplated or not the chance of winning 
back, by the restoration of image worship, and an 
alliance with Charlemagne, the territories which the 
iconoclasts had lost, and which Pepin had maintained 
in their independence, her conduct was that which 
alone could do away the violence and folly of a 
hundred years. 

Such was the aspect which the East assumed 
shortly after the journey of Charlemagne to Italy ; 
and one of the first acts of Irene's administration, 
after the death of her husband, was to court the 
friendship of the French monarch. Early in the 
spring, Charlemagne quitted Pavia, where he had 
passed the winter ; and proceeded to Rome, in order 
to confer with the pontiff on the measures neces- 
sary for the purpose of recalling the Duke of Ba- 
varia to his duty. Peace and persuasion were the 
counsel of the pope ; and peace and persuasion 
were equally the means desired by Charlemagne. 
It was therefore determined that legates from the 
holy see should be sent, together with ambassadors 
from the monarch, representing mildly, yet forcibly, 

* Egtahard, in Vit. Car. Mag. ; Theophanis Chronograph. 



216 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

the folly of rebellion, and the necessity of tranquil- 
lity and submission : and endeavouring to induce 
the Bavarian prince to renew, by some voluntary 
act, the homage which his conduct had rendered 
doubtful. The persons trusted with this important 
mission* executed it well.f Tassilo found his de- 
signs discovered, but being unprepared for resistance, 
and assured of the clemency of the monarch, he 
yielded at once to the remonstrances of the envoys, 
and promised to present himself speedily at the court 
of his cousin ; which promise he accomplished before 
the end of the year ; and, on the same occasion^ 
repeated his vows of homage, and gave hostages for 
his future conduct. 

In the mean while Carloman, the second son of 
the French king, was rebaptized by the hands of 
Pope Adrian ;§ and, in memory of the first great 
protector of the holy see, his name was changed 
from Carloman to Pepin. He was then solemnly 
consecrated with his brother Louis, the last as King 
of Aquitaine,|| the first as King of Italy. f Although 
Charlemagne, in thus creating his son King of Italy, 
evidently looked upon the whole peninsula as sub- 
mitted to his sway, yet the title of the kingdom of 
Lombardy was not totally abandoned by those whose 
interest led them to shrink from a recognition of 
this extended power. We find, indeed, that though 
in general the historians of Charlemagne hence- 
forth speak alone of the kingdom of Italy, yet the 
popes, in their letters to that monarch, address him 

* On the part of the pope, two bishops were sent, Damasus and For- 
mosus ; and on the part of the king, Richolsus, a priest, and Eberhard, 
an officer of his household. 

t Eginhard, Annales. 

t Annales Fuldenses ; Ann. Mettens. 

§ Chron. Moissiac. 

|| Ann. Fuldenses ; Chron. Moissiac ; Ann. Mettenses. A. D. 781. 

IT- Eginhard says that Pepin was declared King of Lombardy ; but the 
other annals, and various contemporary evidences, such as coins, &c. r 
prove that the title bestowed was King of Italy. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 217 

as King of Lombardy ;* in which difference of style, 
perhaps, may be seen a part of that same system 
of gradual encroachment by which the pontiffs ac- 
cumulated titles, to be supported by the manufac- 
ture of deeds. Charlemagne himself still main- 
tained his sovereignty over the whole of Italy, with 
the exception of the small part which adhered to 
the Greeks. He transferred that sovereignty to 
his son, who ruled it also for many years ; but the 
popes, determined step by step to establish the in- 
dependence of their dominion, still called the mon- 
arch King of Lombardy ; and though in actions they 
yielded implicitly to his sway, in words, which were 
to descend to after times, they did not acknowledge 
him as monarch of the whole Italian peninsula. An 
after pontiff, it is true, invested him with the impe- 
rial title in gratitude for personal favours ; but the 
sway of an emperor left the vassal a king, while the 
yoke of a king pressed the vassal into a very in- 
ferior grade ; so that the position of the popes, 
as vassals of the Frankish monarch, was elevated 
rather than depressed by his advancement to em- 
pire. 

The creation of a separate Italian kingdom by 
Charlemagne in favour of his second son placed, 
of course, a great barrier against the designs of 
Irene, if the empress did indeed contemplate the 
reunion of Italy to the crown of the East. But her 
plans in regard to an alliance with the King of the 
Franks could not now be changed on that account, 
for, previous to the partition of Charlemagne's do- 
minions, her ambassadors were already on the way 
to demand Rotruda, the eldest daughter of that 
monarch, in marriage for her son Constantine VI. f 

Constantine and Mamulus, two officers of her 
household, were charged with a mission, which, as 

* Codex Carolinus, Epist. Ixviii. lxix. lxxx. xci. &c. 
tTheophanos Chron. ; Chron. Moissiac; Fragment. Annalium, Chroa. 
Nibelungi subjioitur. A. D. 781. 

T 



218 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

Rotruda had not yet arrived at a marriageable age, 
might produce beneficial effects at the time, and 
could bring about no consequences that might not 
be averted in the course of the years intervening 
between the treaty and the marriage, if a change of 
circumstances should require a change of policy. 
The Greek ambassadors reached Rome* early in 
the spring, and found Charlemagne in that city. 
The proposal of a union between his daughter and 
the young Emperor of the East, was then formally 
made to the French monarch, who willingly con- 
cluded an alliance which promised peace upon his 
eastern frontier during the time required for con- 
firming his sway over his new dominions in the 
north. 

Rotruda was in consequence solemnly pledged to 
the bed of Constantine ; and after the interchange 
of those mutual oaths of amity which, by their con- 
stant infraction, have rendered treaties contempt- 
ible, the eunuch Elisasus was left with the young 
bride to instruct her in the language and the cus- 
toms of her future court ; and the ambassadors re- 
turned to Constantinople to bear the consent of Char- 
lemagne to the Empress Irene. 

The visit of the Frankish monarch to Italy had 
been successful in restoring tranquillity to that part 
of his dominions. The discovery of the schemes of 
the conspirators, and the return of the Duke of Ba- 
varia to his duty, had effectually disconcerted the 
plans of Arichis of Beneventum ; while the death 
of the Emperor Leo, and the alliance between the 



* I have been obliged, in regard to this embassy of the Greeks, to choose 
between conflicting accounts. The Annals of St. Fulda place the be- 
trothing of Rotruda to Constantine in 737, and other accounts state that 
the ambassadors reached Charlemagne in France ; but in 787 there ex- 
isted no longer any reason why the marriage should not have been com- 
pleted, instead of the mere betrothal ; and al) the other annals place the 
event in 781, when Rotruda had not attained her tenth year. Theopha- 
nes is silent in regard to the spot where the Greek ambassadors were re- 
ceived by Charles, but the French annalists say it -was at Rome. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 219 

court of Constantinople and the monarch of the 
Franks, crushed the hopes of Adalgisus, and tore 
another limb from the conspiracy which had been 
formed against the power of Charlemagne. At the 
same time that the treaties now existing with the 
lsaurian dynasty of the East removed a fertile source 
of irritation from Italy, the inhabitants of that country 
were gratified and tranquillized with the idea of be- 
coming a separate kingdom, instead of being joined 
as a conquered province to a superior country ; and a 
great number of the nobles, won by the confidence 
and clemency of Charlemagne, forgot the bitterness 
of subjugation, and attached themselves sincerely to 
their conqueror. 

With these prospects, the monarch of the Franks 
prepared to return to his native country. On his 
homeward journey, an event of apparently less im- 
portance than those in which he had lately mingled 
awaited him at Parma, which event, however, 
tended more than any other, by its consequences, 
to the development of some of the brighter and 
nobler points of his character. This was the visit 
of a single private individual from a distant and 
then unimportant island, whose previous history, 
and state at the time, must be considered, in order 
to comprehend how Charlemagne could derive great 
benefit, and his best schemes receive accomplish- 
ment, from his connexion with an English priest. 

In the decline of the Roman empire, the neces- 
sities of the state had demanded imperatively the 
concentration of all her small remains of power; 
and the legions which had gone forth to acquire or 
maintain sovereignty on the distant borders of her 
immense dominion were one by one recalled, to 
defend the hearths of Rome itself. Among the 
provinces conquered and abandoned was Britain ; 
and whether, after Constantine had usurped the 
purple, and withdrawn his troops from the British 
shores to support his usurpation, the Britons them' 






220 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

selves at once threw off the Roman yoke for ever — 
or whether Victorinus again ruled the country for 
the emperor, — it is evident that early in the fifth 
century,* these islands were left to the government 
of the inhabitants themselves, a wild, unskilful race, 
who added to the rudeness of a barbarous, the vices 
of a conquered, people. A period of darkness and 
bloodshed succeeded ; and a thousand savage kings 
employed the arms which the Romans had left them 
in murdering each other. 

Scarcely forty years after the departure of the 
Romans had elapsed, when the Saxon savages of 
the north, who had begun already to infest the 
shores of France, first landed in England. Too few 
to effect a conquest, the soldiers of Hengist and 
Horsa, who commanded the three vessels which 
brought them thither, readily engaged with their 
chiefs in the service of some of the British kings, 
and were employed in repelling the invasions of the 
Irish and the Picts.f Fresh reinforcements were 
demanded and obtained from Saxony ; and tired of 
being the defenders of the Britons, the Saxons soon 
found a pretext for becoming their enemies. Partly 
by alliance, and partly by aggression, Hengist estab- 
lished himself as an independent sovereign in Kent ; 
and the Saxon dominion began to extend itself in 
England. 

The successful expedition of a small body of their 
countrymen soon brought fresh swarms of Saxons 
to the British shore. Ella and Cerdic followed with 
more extensive armies than their predecessors ; and, 
after deluging the land with blood, obtained posses- 
sion of a great part of the country. A number of 
British kings struggled bravely against the invasion ; 
and Arthur, a chief of sufficient importance and suc- 
cess to have his actions immortalized in fable and 
doubted by history, beyond all question greatly 

* A. D. 409 j Sharon Turner ; Camden. f Bede lib. i. cap. xv. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 221 

retarded the progress of the Saxons by his valour, 
though he facilitated it by his barbarous contentions 
with his own countrymen. 

A multitude of obscure battles, uncertain in their 
event, and the long- and severe struggle of a divided 
and decreasing nation against a continual influx of 
invaders, ended in the establishment of eight distinct 
kingdoms, of which Mercia, extending in a broad 
band from the Humber to the Severn, was the last 
in date,* but one of the first in importance. The 
Britons, confined to Wales and a part of Cornwall, 
retained their language and their customs ; while 
the Saxons, acquiring the taste for territorial pos- 
session, abandoned their predatory excursions, and 
only exercised their barbarous cupidity in aggrieving 
and pillaging each other. 

This state of things continued for some years. 
The natural rudeness of the inhabitants of Britain 
augmenting by a constant existence of strife, till, 
about the year 596, Pope Gregory the Great was 
instigated, by the sight of some English slaves at 
Rome, to conceive and attempt the conversion of 
the pagan islanders. The celebrated Augustin was 
sent, with a band of missionaries, to effect'this noble 
purpose. The marriage of Ethelbert, King of Kent, 
to a Christian princess, of the Merovingian race* 
favoured the object of the messengers of Chris- 
tianity. They were received, were suffered to teach, 
obtained converts ; and the first principles of civil- 
ization were given to the barbarous conquerors of 
England. 

At the same time that Christianity was introduced 
into Britain, a slight tincture of literature was also 
afforded ; and the first Saxon compositions on record 
are attributed to the period of the conversion of 
Kent.f The kingdom of Northumbria was brought 
over to the faith with more difficulty ; but the very 

* A. D. 5S6. t Sharon Turner. 

T2 



222 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

cause of that difficulty,— the investigating and intel- 
lectual character of the king, Edwin, and perhaps 
of the whole people, — was also the cause of the 
rapid progress of religious impressions, and of their 
permanence when once adopted. Such literature 
as the Church of Rome possessed now spread fast 
in Northumberland ; and, at length, in the person of 
Alfred,* called the Wise, a great protector of the 
milder arts appeared. He had been educated by 
Wilfrid, one of the most learned priests of the day ; 
and, with a clear and philosophical intellect, appre- 
ciated and applied the knowledge he obtained. The 
love of letters extended among his subjects ; and the 
cloisters of Northumberland became the repositories 
of ancient learning. Security and leisure, the two 
great foster-parents of science, were to be obtained 
alone in monastic life ; and several of the Saxtm 
kings of Northumbria, abandoning the scenes of 
bloodshed and turbulence which surrounded the 
throne, found peace and happiness in the studious 
seclusion of the monastery. 

Among the people at large, civil wars and disturb- 
ances of all kinds greatly retarded the spirit of 
literature in Northumbria, after the reign of Alfred 
the Wise ; but the same spirit remained concentra- 
ting all its powers in the cloister ; and while France, 
under the declining race of her Merovingian kings, 
was every day losing the remainsf of Roman learn- 
ing, the priests of England retained the elements of 
knowledge and the love of science. 

Three greatj epochs of darkness are distinctly 
marked in the history of France. The first imme- 
diately succeeded the conquest of Gaul by the bar- 
barians, when the arts of the Romans received their 

* Not the same person as Alfred the Great. 

t Hallain, Hist. Middle Ages, vol. iii. chap. ix. 

JThis fact may be easily ascertained by running the eye over the intro 
ductions to the Histoire Litteraire de France. Towards the end of the 
reign of the Merovingians, several documents, pretending to be Latin, 
remain, wbich almost drive translation to despair. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 223 

most severe blow. The second preceded the fall 
of the Merovingian and the rise of the Carlovingian 
dynasty, when wars and civil contentions had worn 
away all that barbaric conquest had left. The third 
followed considerably after the period of which I 
now write, and took place just before the accession 
of the Capetian line, when the folly of Charle- 
magne's descendants, the invasions of the Nor- 
mans, and the complete anarchy of the times 
destroyed all which the great monarch had suc- 
ceeded in restoring.* 

The second of these epochs still existed in full 
force at the accession of Charlemagne himself; 
and in his grand and general views for the consoli- 
dation of his power, his magnificent intellect and 
his benevolent heart immediately led him to con- 
ceive the project of raising his empire above the 
surrounding world, by superior civilization, and of 
binding all its component parts together by a com- 
munity of taste, of knowledge, and of cultivation. 
To obtain his object, however, was difficult, even in 
the outset ; for where could he seek for people 
qualified to instruct the ignorant nations over which 
he was extending his sway? The Italians were 
now almost as uncivilized as the Franks ; and 
Greece, where literature still lingered, was infec- 
tious with vices, and jealous of communicating her 
better stores. Barbarism spread around the mon- 
arch on every side ; and, at the first view, it appeared 
as if it would be necessary not so much to revive 
as to create a literature for France. 

On his return towards his native country, how- 
ever, after having calmed and regulated his Italian 
dominions, Charlemagne was visited at Parma by 
an English priest, named Alcuin,f who had come to 
Rome, charged by the Archbishop of York to re- 
ceive for him the pall which was occasionally sent 

* Hist. Litteraire de France. t Vit. Alcuini Abbatis. 



224 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

from the apostolic see to various bishoprics, as a 
symbol of the archiepiscopal dignity. The renown 
of the monarch had drawn the priest to Parma ; but 
the eloquence and learning - of the Saxon had as 
powerful an effect on the mind of Charlemagne. 
He now found that the cloisters of England con- 
tained men able and willing to co-operate in his 
great design of civilizing and instructing the nations 
under his dominion ; and Alcuin was accordingly 
invited at once to visit France, and to combine with 
the monarch in framing a plan for reviving the light 
of past ages, and dispelling the darkness of the 
present. 

Such an occupation was, of all others, that which 
best suited the talents and inclination of the Saxon 
priest. Passionately fond of knowledge, though the 
learning which he himself possessed was tinctured 
with the sophistical rhetoric of the lower empire, 
and in a degree obscured by the gloomy supersti- 
tions of the Roman church, Alcuin was zealous in 
his desire to extend his information to others, and 
ardent in his aspirations for a more polished and 
humane state of society. Nevertheless, charged as 
he was at the time with a mission of a totally differ- 
ent character, and subjected by the rule of the 
church to the will of a superior, he could not at 
once meet the wishes of the French sovereign, and 
all that he could promise was to visit France if he 
could obtain permission. The desire of so great a 
monarch, however, was not likely to be rejected by 
the Archbishop of York; and, after having distin- 
guished the object of his favour by every mark of 
honour and regard, Charlemagne returned to France, 
satisfied with having taken the first step towards 
improving the state of society, and mitigating the 
rudeness of the age. 

After his arrival in his native country, he held a 
general diet at Worms,* at which Tassilo Duke of 

*Aun. Eginhard; Chron. Moissiac ; Ann.Loiseliani. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 225 

Bavaria, having received assurance of personal 
safety, appeared as a vassal of the French crown. 
His oaths of fidelity and homage were renewed ; 
and, having been entertained for some time with 
splendour and hospitality by his sovereign, he gave 
twelve hostages for his very doubtful faith, and 
returned to his own territories. 

The whole empire now slept in peace; and 
Charlemagne closed the year without any warlike 
movement, — an event which occurred but seldom 
during his long-protracted reign. 



BOOK VII. 

FROM THE SUBMISSION OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA TO THE 
BAPTISM OF WITIKIND, AND THE SUPPRESSION OF THE 
REVOLT OF BRITTANY. 

FROM A. D. 782 TO A. D. 785. 

Effbrts to conciliate the Saxons— Envoys from Denmark and Hungary 
—Incursion of the Sclavonians— Revolt of Saxony— The Franks de- 
feated at Sinthal— Charlemagne takes the Field— His unusual Severity 
—Of no effect— Battle of Dethmold -Battle on the Hase— Saxony once 
more subdued— Witikind and Albion visit the Court of France— Are 
baptized— Charlemagne, after the Death of Hildegarde, marries Fas- 
trada— The Thuringian Conspiracy — Discovered— Punished — State of 
Brittany— Revolt of that Province— Its Subjection. 

The winter after the monarch's return from Italy, 
in A. D. 781, passed by in peace; nor, indeed, had 
he cause to apprehend war from any other quarter 
than from Saxony, whose treacherous and versatile 
inhabitants could never be relied upon, whatever 
promises they had made of obedience, whatever 
pledges they had given of tranquillity. The mon- 
arch of the Franks had taken every measure which 
could be devised to ensure the permanence of his 



226 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

control after the last expedition which he had been 
forced to undertake against them. The construc- 
tion of fortresses and the presence of armies had 
not been the only methods he had employed. The 
introduction of the Christian religion was, as I have 
pointed out before, both an object and a means in 
the complete subdual of the people ; and this he had 
left no effort unexerted to effect. He caused a 
number of churches to be built, and sent mission- 
aries and prelates* to superintend the religious in- 
struction of the people, while he took care that 
neither pomp nor splendour should be wanting, to 
win the co-operating power of imagination, which, 
among a savage nation, is easily gained by that 
which addresses the external senses. Nor had the 
endeavour to conciliate, by every means of kind- 
ness and confidence, been neglected; and, that the 
Saxons might feel as little as possible the weight of 
a foreign domination, he had chosen the dukes who 
were to reign over the different provinces! of Saxony 
from among the people themselves. 

The Saxons had submitted with apparent willing- 
ness, had been baptized, and had attended the court 
and camp of the French monarch with every appear- 
ance of satisfaction and contentment. Aware, how- 
ever, of the uncertain nature of the barbarian char- 
acter, Charlemagne did not choose to leave a land 
which had cost him so much labour to reduce to 
subjection, for any great length of time, without his 
presence ; and in the spring of the year which fol- 
lowed his journey to Italy, he advanced into Saxony, 
and, encamping at the source of the Lippe, applied 
himself to establish as firmly as possible the basis 
of his newly acquired power.J 

During his stay, he was visited by the ambassa- 

*Annales Anonym. Duchesne Script. Franc, vol. ii. p. 21 ; Cnron. 
Moissiac ; Auschar. Archiep. Bremens. in Vit. Willehadi, cap. v. 
t Chron. Moissiac. 
% Eginhard. Annales ; Ann. Loiseliani ; Ann. Fuldens. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 227 

dors of several distant nations, among whom were 
missives from Sigifrid, King of Denmark,* and from 
the Chagan of the Avars, or inhabitants of Hunga- 
ria. Both these monarchs solicited the amity of 
the Franks and their king; but, at the same time, 
Sigifrid had on all occasions afforded a refuge to 
Witikind,f tne great instigator of the Saxon irrup- 
tions, so that Charlemagne had just cause to doubt 
the sincerity of his friendly expressions. That 
great monarch, however, seems ever to have dis- 
dained to persecute a fugitive enemy. Adalgisus 
himself remained secure at the court of Irene, 
whose son was the betrothed husband of the French 
king's daughter; and, in the present instance, 
Charlemagne, without noticing the asylum granted 
to the Saxon chief, received the ambassadors of 
Sigifrid with the same pacific assurances which 
they bore from their sovereign. 

After dismissing the envoys with honour, and 
completing his arrangements for the internal gov- 
ernment of Saxony, the French monarch returned 
to France. But scarcely had he quitted Germany 
when a Sclavonian tribe, called Sorabes, inhabiting 
a district between the Elbe and the Sale, upon the 
immediate frontiers of Saxony, took advantage of 
the monarch's absence, the confusion of a lately 
conquered country, and the invariable indifference, 
if not hatred, of a subdued people, to pour in upon 
the Saxons, ravaging also a part of Thuringia, which 
had long been dependent on France. | 

The invading force was so small that the personal 
presence of Charlemagne did not seem called for, 
and he despatched Adalgisus, his chamberlain, Geilo, 

♦TheTilian Annals, written before 808, call the Danes Northmen, or 
Normans, as well as the Annals of Loisel. This is the first time I 
remember to have found the name Northemanni, though i ossibly it 
may be mentioned before. Eginhard names them Danes in this place, 
as 'well as the Annals of St. Fulda. 

t Eginhard. Annales, A. D. 782. 

i Eginhard. Ann. ; Ann. Poet. Saxon. ; Ann. Loiseliani. 



228 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

his constable, and Worado,* count of his palace, 
with orders to march the united army of Franks 
and Saxons,f which was probably not far from the 
spot, to check the progress and punish the aggres- 
sion of the Sclavonians. 

In the mean time, issuing once more from his re- 
treat in Denmark, Witikind had again appeared 
among the Saxons. The same energy of character 
and the same powerful eloquence which he had 
before displayed produced the same effect. The 
Saxons rosej in every direction, expelled the minis- 
ters of the Christian religion, and, feeling now that 
the patience of their conqueror must be at length 
completely exhausted, they prepared for a war of a 
more fierce and resolute character than any of those 
they had hitherto sustained against the Franks. 

The officers^ commanding! the army which was 

*Eginhard. Ann. 

tl have adopted what I conceived to be the meaning of the Annals of 
Loisel, though the passage is obscure from its brevity : "Misit missos 
suos, Adkalgisu" et Woradum, ut moverent exercitum Francorum et 
Saxonum super Sclavos." 

t Auscharius in Vit. Willehadi, cap. vi. 

* Annales Tiliani. 

\\ The account of this transaction, as given by Eginhard, is in the fol- 
lowing words :— " Cumque Conventu completo trans-Rhenum in Galliam 
se recepisset, Widikindus qui ad Nordmannos prof'ugerat in patriam 
reversus, vams spebus animos Saxonum ad defectionem concitavit. 
Interea Regi allatum est quod Sorabi Sciavi. qui campos inter Albim et 
Salam interjacentes incolunt, in fines Thuringorum et Saxonum, qui eis 
erant contermini, praedandi causa luissent ingressi ; et direptionibusatque 
incendiis quabdam loca vastassent. Qui statim accitis'ad se tribus min- 
istris suis, Adalgiso, cubiculario, Geilone, comite stabuli, et Worado, 
comite Palatii, praecepit ut, sumptis secum Orientalibus Francis atque 
Saxonibus, contumacium Sclavorum audaciam quam celerrime compri- 
merent. Qui cum jussa facturi Saxonise fines ingressi fuissent, com- 
pererunt Saxones ex consilio Widikindi ad bellum Francis inferendum 
esse paratos. Omissoque intinere, quo ad Sclavos ituri erant, cum 
Orientalium Francorum copiis, ad locum, in quo audierant Saxones 
esse congregates, ire contendunt: quibus in ipsa Saxonia obviavit 
Thedericus comes propinquus Regis cum iis copiis quas, audita Sax- 
onum defectione, raptim in Repuaria congregare potuit." — Eginhardi 
Annales, aim. 782. 

Monsieur Gaillard's account is as follows : — " En 782 la Saxe se 
revolta de nouveau ; Charlemagne, occupe ailleurs, y envoya deux 
armees qui devoient se concerter dans leurs operations, car, sans con- 
cert, quel succes peut on attendre ? L'une etoit commande par le Comte 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 229 

proceeding against the Sclavonians had no sooner 
entered Saxony than they found the whole country 
in revolt ; and wisely judging that the success of 
the insurrection in that province was likely to be 
far more fatal than the petty irruption of the Sorabes, 
they instantly determined to turn their arms against 
Witikind and his followers. 

Whether the Saxons who had composed part of 
their original force voluntarily quitted them to join 
the party of the revolt, or whether, judging them 
unworthy of reliance, the generals left them behind, 
does not clearly appear; but it is certain that only 
the oriental Franks* marched towards the spot 
where the insurgent Saxons were mustering. The 
army of the Franks was thus greatly weakened; 
but, at the same time, Theoderic, a cousin of Charle- 
magne, holding a provincial command on the banks 
of the Rhine, collected in haste all the troops of his 
government, and proceeded with prompt vigour to 
suppress the rising of the Saxons, before it had 
reached a still rnore dangerous height. The inform- 
ation which had caused his movement into Saxony 
guided him towards the spot where his presence 
was necessary ; and, marching on with all speed, he 
soon came up with the forces of Adalgisus and his 
companions, advancing with the same purpose as 
his own. The two armies united composed a very 
formidable "host, and hurrying on together, they 
approached a mountain called Sonnethal, or Sinthal, 
near the banks of the Weser, on the northern side 

Theuderic, parent et ami de Charlemagne, accoutume a vaincre avec lui, 
et le Parmenion de cet Alexandre ; l'autre armee avoit trois chefs, — 
Adalgise, chambellan du roi, Geilon, comte de Testable, ou connetable, 
et Wolrade, comte du palais. On ne concoit pas bien par quelle poli- 
tique Charlemagne avoit tant multiple les gtneranx ; c'etoit faire naltre 
gratuitement des occasions de discorde." — Gaillard's Hist, de Charle- 
magne, chap. v. p. 358. 

Monsieur Gaillard cites Eginhard as his authority ; but in comparing 
the two, we are inclined to ask, did he understand Latin? or, had he 
read the author he quotes? 

* Ann. Eginhard, 782. 

u 



230 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

of which hill Witikind was encamped with the 
Saxons whom he had induced to break their vows. 

As soon as the news of his position was obtained, 
it was determined between Theoderic and the com- 
manders of the other army, that a simultaneous 
attack should be made oa both sides of the insur- 
gent's camp. For this purpose, Adalgisus, Geilo, 
and Worado were directed to cross the river with 
their forces, while Theoderic, during the time 
required for their march round the mountain, con- 
structed an intrenched camp on the southern side, 
in order to secure a retreat in case of defeat. At 
an appointed hour the attack was to commence ; 
and the united army of the Franks, with the advan- 
tages of discipline, experience, and well-concerted 
operations, would undoubtedly have completely 
overthrown the crude forces of the Saxons, had 
not that unhappy spirit of jealousy which has in all 
ages ruined so many noble enterprises mingled 
with the counsels of the Frankish chiefs. 

Theoderic, the relation and friend of Charlemagne, 
was already renowned as a general; and the com- 
manders of the other army were fearful that, if they 
admitted* him to share in their attack upon Witi- 
kind, the glory of the victory which they felt sure of 
winning would be solely attributed to him. Having 
received a separate command from their sovereign, 
they were not absolutely obliged to obey the orders 
of the duke ; and, consequently, instead of waiting 
for the appointed time, they determined, immediately 
after separating from Theoderic, to attack the 
Saxons at once. They accordingly advanced directly 
towards the enemy's camp ; and despising an adver- 
sary whom they had so often beheld fly from the 
presence of Charlemagne, they felt confident of 
conquest, and took no precautions to ensure success. 

Witikind had drawn up his army to receive them ; 

* Eginhard. Annates. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 231 

and the Saxons had no choice but death or victory. 
So often had they ravaged the territories of France 
— been conquered and pardoned ; so often had they 
submitted, and again revolted; so often had they 
bound themselves by treaties and vows, and violated 
the most solemn and sacred engagements ; so often 
had they abused the confidence and mocked the 
religion of their conquerors, that they could hope 
for no safety but in triumph. They fought with 
courage, and were led with skill. 

In the Frankish army, on the contrary, the mis- 
conduct of the leaders was, of course, followed by 
the misconduct of the troops. They attacked with 
insolent confidence and eareless confusion. Each 
spurred on his horse irregularly against the enemy 
as fast as he could come up ; but, instead of finding 
fugitives to pursue, and plunder to be taken, they 
met with warriors, resistance, and death. Pouring 
in upon the centre of the Saxons, which had the 
advantage of the ground, the Franks left the flanks 
of their army exposed. Witikind saw their mistake, 
their confusion, and their danger; and immediately 
caused the wings of the Saxon army to wheel upon 
his imprudent enemies.* The French, disordered 
and surrounded, fought with desperation, but fought 
in vain. The havoc was tremendous, and the battle 
of Sinthal was a massacre as well as a defeat. Two 
of the generals whose crime and folly had thus 
exposed the army committed to their guidance fell 
with their soldiers. The third, Worado, or Wolrad, 
fought his way out, and survived ; but, besides the 
generals, four counts and twenty of the noblest 
and most distinguished warriors of the Franks 
remained dead upon the plain ; while a few fugi- 
tives, flying over the mountains to the camp of 
Theoderic, brought to that general the first news 
of his companions' treachery and punishment. 

♦Annates Eginhardi; Annales Mettenses; Annates Fuldenses; An* 
nates Loiseliani. 



232 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

The tidings of the defeat of Sinthal soon travelled 
into France, and Charlemagne himself,* at the head 
of a large army, immediately passed the Rhine, and 
advanced, with the speed of lightning, towards the 
scene of the revolt. By this unhappy battle the 
glory of his arms had been tarnished, but the conse- 
quences which he anticipated were still more dread- 
ful than the fact. For nine years he had been 
labouring to deliver France from the continual 
scourge of the Saxon irruptions. Fear had been 
the only engine which repressed them for a moment ; 
and now, after so long a period of successful war- 
fare, during which he had accomplished the security 
of his own dominions only by the subjection of 
theirs, all that he had done was entirely rendered 
void by one great defeat, which, restoring confidence 
to the people he had formerly subdued, held out a 
long prospect of wars and insurrections for the 
future. This expedition he resolved should now be 
one of chastisement, as well as repression. When 
conquered, and at his mercy, the Saxons had bound 
themselves, by the most solemn vows, never to bear 
arms against him again, and on the security of those 
vows he had shown them clemency ; but now, that 
every engagement was broken, and infidelity had 
been encouraged by victory, he determined to punish 
as well as to conquer, and to wage the same exter- 
minating warfare against his faithless and pertina- 
cious enemies that they had on all occasions waged 
against him. 

His very name, however, was sufficient to carry 
dismay into the hearts of the Saxons. The courage 
which had animated them fled; their victorious 
army dispersed at his approach, like a morning mist 
before the sun ; and their triumphant chief, aban- 
doned by his followers, was obliged to seek safety 
in flight. At the same time the nation flocked to 

* Ann. Poet. Saxon. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 233 

meet the French monarch, glossing their infidelity 
with all the excuses which terror and cunning can 
suggest, and offering once more the treacherous 
vows with which he had been so often deceived. 

Indignant at their baseness, and desirous of striking 
such terror into their hearts as would do away the 
consequences of their late victory, and make the 
impression of their punishment more deep than that 
of their success, Charlemagne unhappily forgot the 
clemency which was one of the most beautiful traits 
of his character. He pardoned the nation, it is true, 
and sheathed the fiery sword, which he had drawn 
for the purpose of wasting the whole land; but he 
demanded that those who had taken an armed and 
active share in the insurrection should be given up 
to his vengeance. This was pusillanimously con- 
ceded by the rest of the Saxon people, and, as a ter- 
rible example for the future,* the French monarch 
ordered four thousand five hundred of the most 
criminal! to be executed in one day.J 

There was, beyond doubt, much to palliate this 
tremendous act of severity. The dreadful evils 
which the Saxons had incessantly inflicted on 
France, their unceasing treachery, the broken vows 
and ruthless disregard of all engagements, of the 
very men who suffered, were all motives which 
may be admitted to qualify the awful sternness of 
the deed ; but still humanity revolts from so terrible 
an act of punishment ; and though Charlemagne was 
far more justified than many who have been less 
censured for similar acts, yet the death of the Sax- 
ons has left a stain upon his name, which has been 
magnified by the partialities, and distorted by the 
theories, of men equally unable to appreciate his 
virtues or his faults. 

*Chron. Sigiberti; Ann. Fuldenses; Ann. Eginhardi. 
t Ann. Mettenses. 

jThe whole of these events are wanting in the Chronicle of Ado, 
Bishop of Vieune. 

U2 



234 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

As in the case of almost all severe measures, the 
effect he intended to produce was not at all accom- 
plished. Witikind had again fled into the north at 
the approach of Charlemagne ; and, though the 
monarch of the Franks did not absent himself far or 
long from the confines of Saxony, before the next 
spring the whole country was once more in revolt. 
The successes of the former year had given fresh 
hopes and expectations to the Saxons ; and the death 
of their countrymen was far from impressing them 
with that terror which the Frankish monarch had 
expected. Accustomed themselves to sacrifice their 
prisoners, the minds of the Saxons were perfectly 
made up to undergo the same destiny after a defeat ; 
and whereas a much lighter infliction, if it had taken 
some new and strange form, would probably have 
spread consternation through the whole country, a 
fate, however horrible, to the contemplation of which 
their minds were habituated, inspired but little fear, 
and produced a small effect. The memory of a 
battle gained against the Franks, however — an 
event which centuries had not seen, — was not easily 
obliterated ; and the consequence of the impulse thus 
given to the national hopes was the raising of two 
armies, such as had never taken the field against 
Charlemagne before. 

The monarch* was early informed of the gather- 
ing storm, and speedily prepared to meet it; but a 
domestic grief, the death of Hildegarde,f his queen, 
which took place in April, retarded his movements 
against the enemy. Various other cares also occu- 
pied him till the middle of May ; but about that time 
he quitted Thionville, where he had passed the win- 
ter, and advanced rapidly upon Dethmold,J where 

* Annales Tiliani ; Annales Loiseliani, A. D. 783. 

t It is a curious fact, that the charter given by Charlemagne to St. 
Arnulph's monastery, near Metz, is dated from "Ascension Day, 783, 
on the eve of which our beloved wife died, in the thirteenth year of our 
ttMion.' — Receuil des Historiens de France, vol. v. p. 749, 

\ Ann. Eginhard. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 235 

the army of Witikind had taken up its position. 
We have no means of calculating the number of 
either force ; but it is probable, from the expression 
of Eginhard, who calls the Saxon host " an innumer- 
able multitude," as well as from the fact of their 
having stood, for the first time, the charge of Charle- 
magne, that the troops of the insurgents were 
numerically superior to those of the monarch. 
Charlemagne* had no advantage but that of attack. 
He had come from a long and weary march, in a 
summer, the heat of which was so uncommonly 
intense that several instances are mentioned of per- 
sons having died from its effects. The Saxons had 
chosen their own position ; they were led by one of 
their greatest chiefs, were animated by the memory 
of victory under his command, and were stimulated 
by vengeance, superstition, and despair: neverthe- 
less, the French monarch hesitated not a moment,! 
but attacked them at once on their own ground , J and, 
after a short but terrible conflict, succeeded in almost 
annihilating their army. 

Few are said to have escaped alive of all the Saxon 
host ; but, of course, such a struggle could not take 
place without great loss also on the part of the 
Franks. A hostile country, and another powerful 
army, were before the steps of Charlemagne ; and 
his forces were too much weakened by the battle 
which he had just won, to admit of his advance with- 
out much risk of his retreat being cut off. Retiring, 
therefore, upon Paderborn, he awaited the arrival of 
fresh troops, which were in preparation throughout 

* Annales Anonym. Duchesne ; Chron. Moissiac. 

t "Ad eos summa celeritate (rex) contendit; commissoque cum eis 
praelio." — Eg'mhardi Annales, ami. 783. 

"lis (les Saxons) l'attaquerent en plaine," &c— Gaillard, chap. v. 
page 363. 

Monsieur Gaillard's chronology and statement are equally incorrect; 
Charlemagne attacked the Saxons, not the Saxons Charlemagne; and 
the date of these battles is 763, and not 784, when no battle was fought 
by that monarch. 

t Eginhard. Anna], 



236 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

France; and, immediately after their coming, he 
once more marched forward to encounter the second 
army of the Saxons, which occupied the banks of 
the Hase, in Westphalia. Scarcely a month had 
elapsed after his former victory, when he achieved 
another that completely destroyed the hopes of 
being able to contend with the Prankish monarch 
in general conflicts, with which the success of Witi- 
kind in the former year had inspired his country- 
men.* The army which opposed the passage of the 
river was as totally defeated as that which had en- 
countered Charlemagne near Dethmold; with this 
difference, however, in the event, that in the first 
battle fought the greater part of the Saxons died 
where they stood, and in the second a considerable 
number surrendered. 

No severity of any kind seems to have been prac- 
tised by Charlemagne towards his prisoners ; and on 
the part of the Saxons, all thought of opposing the 
monarch himself appears to have been abandoned, 
though the whole country continued still in revolt. 
The next two years were consumed in a desultory 
warfare, equally destructive to both parties ; though, 
as the Saxons were the weaker of the two, the same 
extent of loss was more detrimental to them than 
to their enemies. 

Witikind and Albion,f who had commanded the 
two great armies of the insurgents, though con- 
quered, were not subdued; and while Charlemagne, 
determined to crush the revolt at any cost, marched 
through one part of the country, punishing insurrec- 
tion and compelling submission, the rest of the land 
rose up behind his steps, and did away all that he 
had effected in his passage. 

During those two years, only one event of import- 
ance checkered the monotonous character of the 
war. This was a victory gained on the banks of 

* Eginhard. in Vit. Car. Mag. ; Eginhard. Ann. 
j- A. D. 784, 785. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 237 

the Lippe* by Charles, the eldest legitimate son of 
the French monarch. In order to overawe West- 
phalia, while he himself marched in a different 
direction, Charlemagne left a part of his army under 
the command of the prince, then but twelve years 
old. The Saxons, hoping to strike a deep blow at 
the monarch in the person of his son, hastened to 
attack the young commander; but their efforts still 
proved unsuccessful. Both armies consisted en- 
tirely of cavalry, and, after a severe conflict, in 
which a great number of Saxons fell, victory re- 
mained with the Franks, and Charles returned to 
"Worms, crowned with the earliest laurels that the 
annals of the world record. Whatever was the 
prince's share in the victory, — for it is not probable 
that Charlemagne committed such great interests 
solely to the inexperience of twelve years, — the fact 
of Charles having, even nominally, commanded, 
shows at what an early period the Frankish youth 
were inured to arms, and may aid conjecture in 
regard to the cause of that people's long preponder- 
ance as a military nation. 

At length,! in the year 785, after having passed 
the winter in the heart of Saxony, and spent the 
most severe season of the year in traversing the 
land from side to side, and repressing revolt wher- 
ever it appeared, Charlemagne found the whole 
country once more completely subdued.! Witikind 
and Albion had fled, and were now wandering on 
the other side of the Elbe, endeavouring to excite 
the people of that already devastated country to 
fresh, though fruitless, revolt. But the French 



* Ann. Eginhard. 764. t Ann. Tiliani ; Ann. Petaviani. 

% The Tilian Annals (which were composed within twenty-two years 
of this period) make use of the forcible expression, et i>ias apertas per 
totam Siixoniam, to express the renewed subjection of the country. I 
conceive myself, therefore, justified in stating, on the authority of those 
Annals (the nearest chronological record), that the subjection of Saxony 
preceded the submission of Witikind, although the matter has been 
reversed by modern writers. 



238 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

monarch now determined to try, by persuasion and 
kindness, to win the hearts of his two most constant 
and intractable opponents. 

His first step was, through the intervention of 
some of their countrymen, to represent to them the 
inutility of further resistance, and to invite them to 
his presence with promises of security and favour. 
Neither of the Saxon chiefs, however, prone as their 
own nation was to the breach of all promises, would 
confide in the mere word of the French monarch ; 
and Charlemagne offered hostages for their safety, 
if, by appearing at his court, they would but afford 
themselves an opportunity of comparing civilization 
and Christianity with the state of society and re- 
ligion to which they had shown themselves so per- 
tinaciously attached. With this proposal Amalvin, 
a Frank of distinction, was despatched across the 
Elbe, and the first direct communication being opened 
between Witikind and Charlemagne, the negotiations 
were easily concluded. 

The French monarch,* animated but by one view 
in the whole transaction, granted the Saxon chief- 
tains whatever assurances of safety they demanded ; 
and Witikind, at length satisfied of his sincerity, trav- 
ersed the country, and visited his great conqueror at 
Bardingaw in Saxony. f This visit, although its 
duration was but short, excited a strong desire in 
the bosom of the rude Saxon chieftain to see more 
of the splendid court and civilized people, whose 
monarch, he had too many reasons to know, was 
as irresistibly great in war as he now found him 
generous in peace. Such an inclination was doubt- 
less encouraged by Charlemagne himself; and, after 
his return to France, he again received Witikind and 
Albion at Attigny, on the Aine.J From that mo- 
ment, a great change took place in the opinions of 

* Ann. Eginhard. 

\ Ann. Tiliani ; Ann. Loiseliani. 

J Chron. Moissiac; Ana Eginhard, 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 239 

his two opponents. What means of conversion 
were used, and whether the minds of the Saxons 
were brought to conviction by the reasoning - of Chris- 
tian prelates, or whether their imaginations were 
dazzled, and their sight deceived, by the pomps and 
pious frauds of the Romish church, we can only 
vaguely discover from very doubtful legends. The 
chronicles state the meager fact, that Witikind and 
Albion, after having opposed the Christian faith in 
their native land for many years, were solemnly 
baptized at the palace of Attigny, where Charle- 
magne himself appeared as the sponsor for his con- 
quered enemies. Doubtless, no art was left unem- 
ployed by the zealous advocates of the church to 
win the Saxon chiefs to the renunciation of pa- 
ganism ; but all that is positively stated in regard to 
Charlemagne himself is, that, after having honoured 
them highly during their stay, he dismissed them to 
their own land, loaded with costly presents.* The 
whole of Saxony now at once embraced the Chris- 
tian religion ; the churches which had been burnt 
were rebuilt, and others were constructed. The 
priests who had fled returned to their altars,f and 
universal thanksgivings were ordered by the Cath- 
olic church for the establishment of the faith of 
Christ among the obstinate idolaters of the north. J 
This state of things did not, it is true, prove of any 
long duration ; but we here find a sort of epoch in 
the Saxon war, to which it seemed as well to con- 
duct the reader, without pausing to notice in their 
chronological order a number of domestic events 
of more or less importance which, during these years 
of active warfare, occurred in the life of Charle- 
magne. 

Two of these events are worthy of particular 
notice, from the influence they may be supposed to 

* Chron. Moissiac. 

t Auschar. Archiepisc. Bremens, in Vit. Willehadi, cap. viii. 

+ Codex Carolinus, Epist. xcl. 



240 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

have had upon his after life. Soon after the death 
of Hildegard his queen, Bertha, the mother of the 
French monarch, also took her destined place in the 
inevitable tomb. 

Kings are surrounded by so many temptations to 
forgetfulness, that their griefs are generally of short 
duration. But Bertha was regretted long and deeply, 
by Charlemagne ; and, if virtue, rectitude, talents, 
and active benevolence be qualities which should 
attach, Bertha was well deserving of the tears which 
her son bestowed upon her loss. His sorrow, also, 
was justified by a long retrospect of affection ; for 
we learn that the harmony existing between Charle- 
magne and his mother was never known to be 
interrupted, except on the one occasion of the di- 
vorce of Desideria. That cloud itself had soon 
passed away ; the evil consequences which she had 
anticipated were averted by his extraordinary pow- 
ers ; and Bertha lived to see her son the greatest 
monarch of his age and race. 

The sovereign of the Franks was, by natural tem- 
perament, soon led to supply the place which the 
death of Hildegarde had left vacant; and in the 
choice of another wife, he fixed upon Fastrada,* the 
daughter of Rodolph, a Frankish noble of high 
repute. We are led to conclude, that the per- 
sonal beauty of the new queen was not accompa- 
nied by great powers of mind, or by fine qualities 
of the heart ; and her conduct soon produced conse- 
quences the most painful that could affect a monarch 
from the actions of his wife.f These were mur- 
murs among the people, and ultimately the revolt 
of apart of his subjects. 

All accounts represent Fastrada as oppressive 
and merciless ; but what was the precise nature of 
the cruelty she is accused of exercising, and how a 



* Ann. Tiliani ; Chron. Moissiac ; Ann. Eginhaxd, 783. 
t Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magni. cap. xx. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 241 

monarch of such firmness of mind as Charlemagne 
could intrust a dangerous portion of authority to the 
hands of a woman, are points on which history is 
silent, and in regard to which all inferences must be 
derived from collateral evidence. 

It appears, however, that towards the end of the 
year 785, one of the Eastern Franks of noble birth, 
called Hartrad,* conceived the design of exciting 
the part of the country in which he lived to insur- 
rection ; and determined by stratagem to get posses- 
sion of the person of the king, and murder him, or 
to throw off the yoke of France, and declare his 
province independent. 

Either from discontent! at the conduct of the 
queen, general ambition, or that love of change so 
universal in the minds of the weak, a number of 
other counts joined in the conspiracy, which soon 
began to assume a formidable aspect. For some 
time Charlemagne had known that treasonable efforts 
were in meditation against his government ; but the 
information he had received was either so vague, or 
the schemes of the conspirators so immature, that 
he suffered them to proceed till the commencement 
of the ensuing year, keeping nevertheless a strict 
watch upon their movements. At length, the chief 
of the discontented nobles, Count Hartrad — on the 
coming of a royal messenger, charged to demand 
that his daughter, who had been long betrothed to 
one of the western Franks, should be given to her 
husband — took occasion to throw off the authority 
of the king, and to call together the abetters of his 
treason. 



* Ann. Eginhard. 

t Annales Nazariani. I have taken this account from the Chronicles 
of the Monastery of St. Nazarius, near the Rhine, because they were 
composed by a contemporary, finishing in the year 790, and because the 
position of the monastery was in ihe immediate vicinity of the scene of 
these events. The various other annals of a later period do not mention 
the circumstances so minutely, while they state the general faets very 
nearly in the same manner. 

X 



242 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

His summons was instantly obeyed; but wheil 
the conspirators appeared in arms, it was found that, 
as usual on such occasions, they had sadly miscal- 
culated their strength ; and that their forces were 
still so scanty as to render perseverance in their 
design utter madness.* The consequence of this 
conviction was their immediate dispersion in order 
to seek places of concealment. But they had now 
too openly proclaimed their treason for justice to 
remain inactive any longer. A considerable number 
were arrested in the different spots where they had 
taken refuge, and were afterward tried at Worms 
before an extraordinary court, to which a number 
of the bishops had been summoned. On the present 
occasion this commixture of Christian prelates with 
the lay judges of the land did not seem to temper 
greatly the severity of the punishment awarded. 
None of the conspirators, it is true, were put to 
death ; but such as were proved most guilty were 
condemned to that fearful infliction, the loss of 
sight,f a sentence then common. Others were de- 
graded from their rank, and the whole were doomed 
to permanent or temporary exile. 

Another war, within the actual limits of France, 
demanded the attention of Charlemagne, immediately 
after the revolt of Hartrad ; and it may be neces- 
sary, for a moment, to look to the state of Brittany, 
in which it took place, in order clearly to understand 
its cause and object. On the first invasion of Gaul 
by the Franks, no resistance of so determined a 
nature was offered to their progress by any of the 
various tribes or nations who adhered to the Roman 
government of that province, as by the ArmoricansJ, 
— a people inhabiting one of the western districts of 
France, but the extent of whose territory at that 
time it would be difficult to define. The struggle 



i* Chron. Moissiac. \ Ann. Eginhard. 

t Procopius, de Bell. Goth. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 243 

was kept up between them and the barbarians long 
after it had been yielded by the rest of the inhabit- 
ants of Gaul ; and their courage and vigour, though 
obtaining no support from the country in whose 
defence they fought, at least served to win the ad- 
miration and respect of their adversaries. At 
length, abandoned by Rome, and assailed on all sides 
by enemies, the Armoricans chose rather to enter 
into a general league with the Franks, than still 
contend for a falling state, which had already cast 
them off. What were the precise terms of this 
league, and how far the Armoricans were absolutely 
amalgamated with the Franks, cannot be discussed 
in this place ; but it is more than probable, that long 
before the accession of Charlemagne a complete 
assimilation of the two nations had taken place. 

However that may be, in a part of the territories 
formerly inhabited by the Armoricans, a new people 
had established themselves, some time previous to 
the period of which I speak. These fresh settlers 
consisted of fugitives from England, where the in- 
vading Saxons had compelled each native Briton to 
choose between domestic servitude, eternal strife, 
and foreign exile. Those who preferred the latter 
soon colonized a large part of the seacoast of France, 
extended their territories, consolidated their power ; 
and having, both by their own strength and the dis- 
sensions of the Merovingian monarchy, extorted the 
privilege of governing themselves, they maintained 
their own laws and language, and existed a separate 
people within the French dominions.* A tribute 
alone marked their dependence ; but even this they 
often neglected or refused ; and though Charlemagne 
had taken precautions to prevent their encroachments 
on the neighbouring country, they yet judged so ill 
of his authority that they chose his reign as the 

* Eginhard, Annates ; Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Mag, 



244 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

time for making a great effort to assert their immu- 
nity from their customary mark of vassalage. 

Although Charlemagne, conscious of his own 
power, viewed their efforts to shake off his sway 
with contempt, yet it was contempt in no degree 
mingled with that blind arrogance which neglects 
the means of safety in the confidence of strength. 
The revolt of Brittany, however, was not a matter 
of sufficient importance to call for the personal 
presence of the monarch ; and, while he himself 
devoted his attention to the internal regulations of 
the state, and the punishment of the Thuringian 
conspirators, he directed Audulphus,* his seneschal, 
to lead an army into the refractory province, and 
reduce it to subjection. This was easily and'rapidly 
accomplished. The Bretons were in no state to 
maintain the independence which they claimed ; and, 
after the capture of all their fortresses by the Franks, 
they threw themselves on the clemency of the mon- 
arch, which was never appealed to in vain. Audul- 
phus returned in triumph to the court, bearing with 
him the trophies of his victorious expedition. The 
Bretons gave hostages for their future obedience ; 
and several of their nobles even presented them- 
selvesf at the diet which was then sitting at Worms. 

* Ann. Loiseliani; Ann. Tiliani, 787; Ann. Eginhard, 788. 
t Ann. Metteasis. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 245 



BOOK VIII. 

FROM THE PACIFICATION OF SAXONY, TO THE DEFEAT OF 
ADALGISUS AND THE GREEKS IN ITALY. 

FROM A. D. 785 TO A. D. 788. 

The Conspiracy of Arichis Duke of Beneventum, and Tassilo Duke of 
Bavaria, renewed — The doubtful Conduct of Greece. — Charlemagne 
marches into Italy — Advances towards Beneventum — Arichis submits 
— The Alliance between France and Greece broken off— The Intrigues 
of Tassilo— Charlemagne marches against Bavaria — Tassilo submits — 
Charlemagne's Efforts for the Revival of Letters— Interrupted by the 
Alliance of Tassilo, Arichis, and Irene — Death of the Duke of Bene- 
ventum and his eldest Son— Charlemagne bestows the Dukedom on 
the second Son Grimwald — Progress of the Conspiracy— Forces des- 
patched to Italy — Arrest and Condemnation of the Duke of Bavaria — 
Landing of the Greeks in Italy— Their Defeat. 

Through the whole of Charlemagne's northern 
dominions peace was now fully established ; but the 
storm which his presence had for a time averted 
from Italy again threatened to break upon it with 
redoubled force. Sufficient time had elapsed for the 
weak Duke of Bavaria, under the influence of a 
violent and vindictive wife, to forget the engagements 
he had entered into, and the oaths he had taken. 
The Duke of Beneventum, also, who had espoused 
another daughter of the dethroned King of Lom- 
bardy, was, like Tassilo, instigated both by his wife's 
revengeful spirit and his own ambition still to 
pursue his schemes of casting off the almost nominal 
dependence which he ow T ed to the crown of France. 
Irene, too, the Empress of the East,* had by this 

* It is necessary here to observe, that this part of the history of the 
period is extremely obscure ; and it is better to confess gnorance than 
to misstate facts. In the Codex Carol in us, Epist. 66, which is generally 
attributed to the year 786, we find that Arichis, about that period, was 
engaged in active warfare with the state of Amalfi, and with the Neapol- 
itans, a part of Italy which was still in possession of the Greeks. The 

X2 



246 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE, 

time adopted views adverse to those of Charlemagne. 
iShe had tasted fully the sweets of power ; the pas- 
sion for dominion had developed itself in her heart; 
and the nascent desires of rule which began to mani- 
fest themselves in her son led her to dread the 
speedy loss of that authority so dear to hei own 
bosom, if she suffered the youthful Constantine to 
strengthen himself by such an alliance as that which 
she had formerly proposed with the French monarch. 

It is not proved, indeed, that the empress sup- 
ported the Duke of Beneventum in his schemes of 
ambition, or that she pampered the pride of Tassilo 
of Bavaria into treason and revolt, but it is clear 
that she kept up a correspondence with both. Nor 
does it seem unlikely, although the actual rupture 
of the alliance between France and Constantinople 
is attributable to Charlemagne himself, that Irene 
was in the highest degree unwilling to complete it, 
and that her intrigues hurried it to its termination. 
It is sufficient, however, here to say, that the mar- 
Lombard histories of Camillus Peregrinus throw no light upon the 
subject; and it seems strange that Arichis, if supported by Irene, should 
make war upon her subjects. However, we learn from the 88th Epistle 
of the Codex Carolinus, that iu 787 Ari> his was in active treaty with 
Irene ; and the only way I can account for his conduct is by supposing 
that, in 786, he confided in his own power and that of the Duke of Ba- 
varia, and did not at all rely for support upon Greece, — that, finding 
himself obliged to yield to the superior power of Charlemagne in that 
year, he still maintained his purpose of casting off his alleg ; anee to 
France; but, additionally irritated against his conqueror, sought aid 
from Irene. At the same time, Charlemagne, seeing that through the 
criminal ambition of the Greek empress his daughter would become her 
slave, if married to the young and weak Constantine, broke off the pro- 
posed alliance in 787, instead of cementing it, as stated by the Annals of 
St. Fulda ; and therefore Arichis found Irene fully prepared to second 
him in all his views. The error of the Annals of St. Fulda is clearly 
proved by every after fact; for, from the moment of the return of her 
ambassadors in 787, Irene appeared as the enemy of the Franks. 

The authority of Monsieur Gaillard cannot be received upon these 
points ; for he declares that the Dukes of Keneventum and Bavaria 
treated with Constantinople, and gives the Annals of Eginhard as his 
authority ; while these annals never make the slightest mention, directly 
or indirectly, of such a circumstance. A few pages fariher, he says that 
Irene created Arichis patrician in Italy; and he again cites the Annals 
«of Eginhard, which are silent on this point also. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 247 

riage* proposed was entirely broken off within a 
short period of the time of which I now write, and 
that long before its absolute relinquishment, Irene 
showed the most decided signs of hostility towards 
the court of France. 

Whatever part the empress acted in these trans- 
actions, it is evident that a very extensive con- 
spiiacy existed in ltaly,f embracing almost every 
portion of that country and the Tyrol, and extend- 
ing itself to Bavaria. At the same time, its ramifi- 
cations spread to nations over which Charlemagne 
had no control ; for the Bavarian duke, well aware 
of the vast power of him whose authority he sought 
to cast off, and whose wrath he was about to en- 
counter, had negotiated with many of the barbarous 
hordes in the vicinity of his dominions. From them 
he had obtained promises of aid and support in the 
moment of strife ; and had time been given for ac- 
complishing the preparations meditated by all the 
conspirators and their allies, a united force would 
have been created, which the whole genius, skill, 
and vigour of Charlemagne could scarcely have 
found means to overcome. 

The watchful care, however, of the French mon- 
arch left no part of his vast dominions unobserved, 
and his active energy encountered and crushed the 
evils by which he wxs threatened while they were 

* Monsieur Gaillard gives a detailed account of the circumstances 
attending the rupture of this alliance. He declares that Irene sent am- 
bassadors to France, with orders to demand Rotruda for her son, in. 
public ; but in private to throw every obstacle in the way. Charlemagne 
received them coldly, and gave them every opportunity of breaking off 
the negotiation, which was accordingly done in 788, and the ambassadors 
retired, feigning indignation and disappointment. Such also is the 
statement of Maimbourg, in his History of the Iconoclasts. I find no au- 
thority to support it; but it seems to me very probable that such might 
he the course pursued by the parlies concerned, and I have consequently 
adopted it. in some degree, a few pages farther on, where I speak of the 
embassy from the court of Constantinople, which Charlemagne received 
at Capua. My reasons for supposing that embassy to be the one which 
terminated the negotiations I have given in a note upon that passage. 

t Annales Naxariaru; Cnxon. Brev. St. Galli; Eginhaxd Annales. 



248 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

yet immature. The designs both of the Duke of 
Bavaria and the Duke of Beneventum became known 
to him while regulating- the internal policy of Saxony, 
and receiving the hostages of the revolted Bretons. 
His determination to place himself in the midst of 
the scene of danger was immediately taken ; and 
late in the year 786 he departed from Worms, and 
marched directly upon Italy. 

His first halt* was at Florence, where he arrived 
at Christmas, and after a brief pause, with a view to 
refresh his troops, he proceeded thence to Rome. 
He was joyfully received by Pope Adrian, who was 
bound to him on every account, by friendship and 
by a similarity of mind, as well as by the remem- 
brance of benefits and the existence of mutual in- 
terests. The coming of the great king was there- 
fore always a subject of rejoicing at the court of the 
prelate, and never more so than at a moment when 
the muttering voice of the great Italian volcano 
threatened the country every hour with convulsion 
and ruin. 

Charlemagnef lost not a moment ere he turned his 
whole attention to the regulation and pacification of 
Italy. His first care was to deliberate with Adrian 
and with his own nobles! u P on the state of Bene- 
ventum, and upon the necessity of its subjugation, 
— a step without which the tranquillization of Italy 
seemed remote, if not impossible. But motives 
such as seldom actuate monarchs and conquerors 
induced him to pause, and guard against himself, 
lest any causes but stern and absolute necessity 
should influence him in hurrying on towards the cer- 
tain evils of warfare. Even supposing that neither 
siege nor battle were to follow, yet the dreadful 



* 25th December, 786. Chron . Moissiac. 

t Annates Tiliani; Annates Eginhardi, 786. 

j The councils which were held upon this occasion are particularly 
marked by the different annalists. Tarn cum Adriano Fonti/ice, quam 
cum suit optimatibus deliberasset. — Eginhardi Annates. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 249 

ravages which his army would unavoidably commit 
on a hostile occupation of the country,* weighed 
heavily upon the monarch's mind, and cost him much 
hesitation ere he determined to pursue his march 
towards Beneventum. 

The halt of the Frankish forces, and the delibera- 
tions which ensued at Rome, gave full time for the 
news of Charlemagne's approach to reach the Bene- 
ventine duke, who, aware of his own designs, and 
totally unprepared to resist so powerful an army as 
that which threatened his territories, saw nothing 
but destruction before him. To appease the mon- 
arch of the Franks, without absolutely abandoning 
his former plans, Arichis immediately despatched 
his eldest son, Romuald, to Rome, charged! with 
many presents and fair speeches ; and directed to 
supplicate Charlemagne to desist from his hostile 
advance. He was also commanded to promise, on 
the part of his father, entire obedience to the will 
of Charlemagne, and that great king gladly wel- 
comed his coming, till he discovered that the young 
prince of Beneventum had no specific act of homage 
to offer — no inviolable engagement to propose. 

Perceiving instantly that the object of Arichis 
was to gain time, and to turn him from his course 
till Beneventum could be prepared for resistance, 
Charlemagne detained Romuald in his camp, and in- 
stead of pausing to deliberate any further, advanced 
rapidly towards the Beneventine territory. Arichis 
now found that the Frankish monarch was not to be 
deceived ; and, having rather hastened than retarded 
his own fate by his duplicity, he quitted his capital 
and fled precipitately to Salernum, which, in addi- 
tion to strong fortifications, possessed the great 
advantage of offering the means of escape by sea. 
Sincere submission, or still farther flight, were now 
the only expedients left for his choice, and he im- 

* Annales Loiseliani. 

t Ann. Tiliani; Ann. Eginhard ; Ann. Mettensis, A.D.788, 



250 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

mediately determined upon the former. His second 
son Grimwald was accordingly despatched towards 
the monarch, with proposals no longer intended to 
amuse, but to satisfy. By these Arichis offered to 
yield both his sons as hostages, and to give any 
other security for his future good faith that the 
sovereign himself would point out, at the same time 
supplicating, in the humblest terms, that the Frank- 
ish army might be stayed in its rapid and destructive 
march. 

This new embassy* met the monarch at Capua ; 
and, influenced rather by the humane desire of 
sparing the Beneventines than by any confidence 
in the promises of Arichis, Charlemagne accepted 
the submission of the duke. Twelve hostages were 
given by the people of the dukedom in pledge of 
their own fidelity ; and the second son of Arichis, 
named Grimwald, was alone detained by the French 
king, who afterward carried the youth back with him 
into France, and educated him by the noble lessons 
of his own society and his own example. The 
eldest son, Romuald, he generously sent back to his 
father; but he exacted, as a mark of his undisputed 
authority, that the dukes of Beneventum should, in 
future, bear upon some part of the coin of their 
dukedomf the name of their sovereign lord. 

Charlemagne, it would appear, remained a con- 
siderable time at Capua,J awaiting the return of 

* Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Mag. ; Ann. Loiseliani. 

t See Le Blanc, Trait e des Monnoies, p. 100, 4to. edition. The Chron- 
icle of Erchempert, on the history of the Lombards of Beneventum, 
attributes this demand to a later period. The same work also states, 
that Charlemagne demanded as a hostage Adolgisa, the daughter of Ari- 
chis ; but it is to he remarked, that this is a much later composition than 
the generality of authorities for the reign of Charlemagne, nnd that it is 
unsupported, in this respect, by any other testimony,— See Muratori,Rer. 
Script. Ital. torn. ii. part i. p. 238. 

% At this place he exercised several acts of authority in regard to the 
internal jurisdiction of Beneventum, which prove that he considered 
himself the acknowledged sovereign of the state, and that he claimed 
rights of prescription -not of conquest, as some have asserted. Among 
these was the concession of two ecclesiastical charters, or diplomas, — 
one to the Bishop of Beneventum himself, and one to the monastery qC 
St. Vincent. — See Ughelli, Italia Sacra, torn, viij, 



HtSTORY OP CHARLEMAGNE. 251 

messengers whom he despatched to Beneventurri 
for the purpose of receiving- the oath of fidelity 
prescribed both to Arichis and his people. During 1 
this halt he received the ambassadors sent by the 
Empress Irene to treat with the French court in re- 
gard to the proposed marriage of her son. What 
were really the instructions given to these envoys 
we do not know, but neither party were any longer 
desirous of an alliance the aspect of which had been 
entirely changed by the lapse of six or seven years.* 
Charlemagne, however, as before mentioned, took 
the odium of the refusal upon himself. The ambas- 
sadors were coldly entertained; and after asking the 
opinion of his council on the subject of their mis- 
sion, the monarch dismissed them, filled either with 
real or apparent dissatisfaction.! 

As soon as these affairs were ended, and the tran- 
quillity of Beneventum was secured, Charlemagne 
retraced his steps to Rome, and proceeded to inves- 
tigate all the various branches into which the plot 
of Arichis had spread itself throughout Italy. During 
these transactions he left the news of his proceed- 
ings to reach Tassilo Duke of Bavaria, and work 
their proper effect upon his weak and versatile mind, 
before he took measures to punish that vassal's 

* Eginhard, Ann. 786. These events took place in 787, though Egiri- 
liard, beginning the year always at Easter, places them in 786. 

1 1 have adopted this opinion, though with some hesitation, in opposi- 
tion to the precise statcr»ent of the Annals of St. Fulda, the Chronicle 
of Hermanus Contractus, and the Historia Francornmof Petrus Kiblio- 
thecarius, which saj that Rotruda was this year affianced to Constan- 
tine. None of these annals, however, dale prior to the year 885; and I 
have formed my opinion from the following circumstances In the first 
place, the annals more immediately contemporary do not mention the 
circumstance of Rotruda having been on this occasion again promised to 
the young emperor, though they speak of the embassy. We know that 
the marriage never took place ; we hear of no other negotiation by which 
it was broken off; and we learn from Theophanes, that early in 788, 
Irene sought out Maria, the Armenian girl, whom she immediately mar- 
ried to her son. In the same year, Eginhard mentions that the war in 
favour of Adalgisus was undertaken by Constantine because Charle- 
magne had refused him his daughter. AJJ these circumstances seem * 
prove that this embassy in 737 terminated the negotiations. 



252 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

renewed breach of faith. The tidings of the complete 
subjection of Arichis, his brother-in-law and ally, 
were thus carried to the court of the Bavarian 
prince long before his means of resistance were in 
any degree prepared ; and at the same time he had 
good reason to fear that the inquiries which the 
monarch was, even then, engaged in making into 
the darker points of the conspiracy would soon 
bring his criminality to light more glaringly than 
ever. 

Confident in an alliance with the Huns or Avars, 
together with various other northern nations, and 
only requiring time to mature his endeavours, Tas- 
silo determined upon exactly the same step by which 
Arichis had endeavoured to blind the eyes of Charle- 
magne. — He accordingly at once sent messengers 
to Rome,* in order to deceive his cousin by a pre- 
tence of contrition for his past offences, and to delay 
him by long negotiations, which he believed, from 
the distance between Rome and Bavaria, might be 
easily protracted till the necessity of temporizing 
was done away by the power of resistance. 

In order to give additional efficacy to his own 
representations, his envoys were commanded to 
pray the intercession of the pope between the 
offended sovereign and the contrite vassal, and 
Adrian, believing his professions to be sincere, will- 
ingly undertook the dignified and appropriate office 
of mediator. He exerted himself with zeal ;f and 
although the designs which Tassiio had entertained 
were laid open more and more, yet the monarch's 
real attachment towards the Roman pontiff, and 
deference for his opinion, soon mitigated the anger 
which his subject's renewed treachery had justly 
excited. Charlemagne accordingly declared, that he 
was ready to receive any security which the am- 
bassadors might have to propose for their master's 
ftture fidelity. But on communicating to them the 

*Egninard, Annates ; Annates Tiliani. t Ana LoiselianL 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 253 

success of his intervention, the pope learned, with 
surprise and indignation, that the envoys had nothing 
to offer without sending to Bavaria for further in- 
structions. 

Some more efforts were made to deceive and gain 
time, but the object of the duke and his treacherous 
duplicity were now evident, both to the pontiff and 
the monarch ; and while Adrian* launched the thun- 
ders of the church at him who had dared to use its 
most sacred attribute for the purpose of deception, 
Charlemagne hastened, with the speed of light, to 
chastise his rebellious vassal, and guard his peaceful 
dominions. 

Carrying with him a considerable number of the 
Lombard nobles, who had been convicted of con- 
spiring against the state, he left his sonf Pepin in 
Italy, with a tranquillized territory, and a consider- 
able army, which he was directed to lead towards 
Bavaria by the way of Trente. The monarch then 
hurried his own march towards France, dispersed 
the Lombards whom he had brought from Italy,;}; 
through a country where they could work no evil, 
and called a diet of the nation at Worms, to consult 
for the public safety, and raise the necessary forces 
for the maintenance of the royal authority. In this 
assembly, he displayed to his people all that he had 
done during his absence ; and, explaining to them 
the danger of his situation and of their own, easily 
obtained all the supplies he could desire. 

Two armies were instantly raised, and as speedily 
in motion. The one, composed of the transrhenane 
Franks, mingled with several bodies of Saxons, was 
thrown forward immediately to Phoringen, upon the 
Danube ; while Charlemagne himself, followed by 

* Ann.Loiseliani ; Ann.Tiliani. 

t Ann. Eginhard. 

t Chron. Brev. St. Galli. The Annals of St. Nazarius, and several 
others, mention the fact of a number of Lombards having been detected 
in conspiring, and having been punished by exile. 



254 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

the Franks of Gaul, advanced into the territories of 
Augsburg, and reached the banks of the Lech,* 
which then marked the frontier of the feudal duchy 
of Bavaria. It is more than probable, that indigna- 
tion, as well as caution, had given wings to the 
movements of Charlemagne, and had hurried him 
forward to the boundary of his unworthy cousin's 
territory. There, however, the same generous com- 
passion,! which had withheld him from entering the 
country of the Duke of Beneventum, again caused 
him to pause, and give time for fear, rather than 
punishment, to produce submission. 

The Duke of Bavaria found himself, not only de- 
tected, but surprised. He had endeavoured in vain 
to deceive a great and magnanimous mind ; he had 
again raised his hand against a forgiving relation 
and a clement lord ; and now, before he could be- 
lieve that his treachery was fully known, he found 
himself surrounded with armies, irresistible by num- 
bers, courage, and skill, and long inured to victory 
and success. 

At the same time, Tassilo discovered that he could 
in no degree depend upon his own people for sup- 
port ;| as his nobles more faithful than himself, re- 
membering the oaths of homage they had taken to 
Pepin aud his children, showed no disposition to 
join in the duke's schemes of rebellion. $ His allies 
were afar ; and one course alone was left, — submis- 
sion. 

With his proud heart burning at the degradation 
which his treachery had called upon him, Tassilo 



* Ann. Nazariani ; Ann. Loiseliani. 

t The most minute account of these transactions is to be found in the 
annals called Loiseliani. Some of the chronicles state, that Charle- 
magne, before marching on Bavaria, sent messengers to demand the sub- 
mission of the duke ; and the Annals of St. Nazarius mention a curious 
act of homage performed by Tassilo : Illucque veniens Tassilo, Dux 
Bejuveriorum ad eum, et reddidit ei cum baculo ipsampatriam, in cujus 
capite similitude- hominis eral. 

X Ann. Bertiniani, 757. § Ann. Loiseliani. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 255 

appeared at the camp of his cousin as a suppliant, 
and offered every pledge for his future conduct. 
The clemency of Charlemagne was still unwearied : 
" he was gentle by nature," to use* the expressive 
words of Eginhard ; and he once more extended his 
forgiveness to his criminal relation, though the 
tranquillity of his dominions obliged him to demand 
sufficient hostages for the observance of his vassal's 
renewed engagements. Twelve of these were given 
by Tassilo, together with his son Theodon, a hostage 
of much more consequence than any of the others, 
not alone on account of his superior birth, but also 
because, inheriting all his mother's hatred towards 
the Franks, he had been a sharer in all his father's 
treasons. 

Trusting to these pledges, Charlemagne now with- 
drew his armies, and retired to Ingelheim, where he 
spent the winter in striving to cultivate and improve 
the moral situation of his people. This constant 
and rapid change of occupation and endeavour is 
one of the most singular points in the character and 
history of Charlemagne. The moment that his 
great and comprehensive mind was withdrawn from 
one object of import, it was directed, without pause, 
to some other mighty undertaking. The affairs of 
peace and war, of policy and literature, the grandest 
schemes for consolidating his power, and extending 
his dominions, and the noblest efforts towards civil- 
izing his subjects, and dispelling the darkness of the 
world, seem alternately, yet with scarce a moment's 
interval, to have occupied the attention of the French 
monarch, in the midst of a barbarous nation and a 
barbarous age. 

In pursuance of the purpose he had disclosed to 
Alcuin, Charlemagne, during the short time he had 
lately spent at Rome,f had collected a number of 
grammarians and arithmeticians, the poor remains 

* Eginhard, Ann. 787. 

t Monachus Engolismensis, in Vit. Car. Magni, A. D. 787. 



256 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

of the orators and philosophers of the past, and en- 
gaged them to accompany him from Italy to France, 
" where," to use the words of the Monk of Angou- 
leme, " the study of the liberal arts did not at that 
time exist." 

As soon as he had terminated his expedition 
against Tassilo of Bavaria, the monarch applied the 
whole energies of his mind to promote the cultiva- 
tion of literature in his dominions ; and spreading 
the teachers he had collected in Italy through the 
various provinces of France, he offered the means 
of instruction to all his people.* The sole sources 
of knowledge which had existed previous to the 
present period were the few schools held by some 
of the bishops in their houses, and by some of the 
abbots in their monasteries. These, however, had 
been hitherto exclusively devoted to ecclesiastics ; 
and at the time to which I now refer, the first effort 
was made to extend the benefits of such establish- 
ments to the whole community.f The monarch dic- 
tated an encyclical letter to all the clergy of France, 
calling upon them to aid in spreading knowledge;}; 
and information, and he himself began to establish 
schools in various parts of his dominions, at which 
the laity as well as the clergy might procure instruc- 
tion. His example was speedily followed by the 
church: the ecclesiastical seminaries were either 
opened to the rest of the people, or other establish- 
ments were founded for their instruction in the 
various diocesses of the empire ; the excellence of 
knowledge was inculcated from the pulpit and the 
chair ; its pursuit rewarded by favour and advance- 
ment ; the natural inappetence of ignorance was 
counterbalanced by every stimulant that could be 
devised ; and both the desire of information and the 

*Mon. Sangallensis, lib. i. 

t Pagi Critica in Baron, ad. anru 787. 

X Epist. Car. Magni, ad Baugulphum, Concil. Gall, torn, it 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 257 

means of procuring it became general throughout 
France. 

In the cultivation of his hereditary dominions, the 
monarch did not neglect the improvement of those 
territories which he had acquired since his acces- 
sion ; and nothing was forgotten which could con- 
tribute to the instruction of the northern people 
whom he had conquered, and who in every point of 
civilization were far behind the Franks themselves. 
However, as the principles of a mild religion were 
still but little known among them, the first object of 
Charlemagne was to plant in their hearts that pri- 
mary germ of all amelioration ; and the propagation 
of Christianity among the Frisons and other people 
of Saxony met with its full attention from the un- 
wearied zeal of the French monarch. Bishops and 
preachers were appointed to every part of the coun- 
try ; and eloquence and piety were sure to be singled 
out, for the dangerous but glorious distinction of 
turning* the dark pagans of the north to the light of 
a purer faith. 

Such were the occupations which filled the hours 
of Charlemagne during the brief period which he 
was permitted to devote to the arts of peace. That 
period, however, soon drew towards a close; for 
neither active vigilance could overawe, nor invari- 
able clemency disarm, the hatred of some of his 
enemies; and even in the midst of his most pacific 
employments, continual intelligence reached him 
of the meditated treason, both of Arichis of Bene- 
ventum, and of Tassilo Duke of Bavaria. Neither 
of those perverse vassals remembered the oaths of 
fidelity which danger and necessity had extorted, 
as any thing else than as acts of degradation and 
incitements to enmity ; and both prepared to seize 
the first opportunity of revolt. Arichis, finding 
himself unable to stand singly in opposition to so 

* Vit. St, Luidgeri, Recueil des Hist, de France, torn. v. p. 492. 
Y2 



258 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

great an adversary, took advantage of the position 
of his territories upon the Italian coast to negotiate 
in private with the Greek empire. Upon condition 
of receiving dignity and assistance himself from the 
empress and her son,* he promised to seat Adalgi- 
sus on the throne of Lombardy ; and to open the way 
for Greece towards the conquest of the rest of Italy. 

The hope of regaining that country by means of 
an alliance with Charlemagne^ if ever it did exist in 
the bosom of Irene, had now passed away, while the 
desire of recovering that portion of her predecessor's 
empire remained as strong as ever, heightened by 
the wish to snatch it from one who had insulted the 
imperial court by the refusal of his daughter. A 
thirst for revenge was certainly felt by the young 
emperor, whose hopes and passions had been excited 
early towards the bride that was afterward denied 
him ; and the breaking off the marriage might be 
perfectly consistent with Irene's views, and yet the 
rejection of her alliance by the Franks be regarded 
by her as an insult, which she was bound to resent. 
At all events, such was the tone of offended dignity 
which she assumed; and willingly listening to the 
proposals of Arichis, she sentf ambassadors to 
assure him of aid and protection, and to concert 
with him the means of accomplishing their mutual 
designs. 

Man's most cunning policy, however, serves but 
to work out the unseen purposes of Heaven ; and 
when the shrewdest schemer of the earth has plotted 
a device which no human power can oppose, fate 
causes his foot to stumble over some minute circum- 
stance, and lays him and all his projects prostrate in 
the dust. On their arrival in Italy, the missives of 
the empress found the Duke of BeneventumJ and 

* Codex Carolinus, Epist. Ixxxviii, f Ibid. Epist. xcii. Ixxxviii, 

% See, for the death and epitaph of Romuald, and other particulars 

concerning Arichis, the Chronicon Anonymi Salernitani, cap. xvi. ; Mura* 

tori, Script. Ital. torn. ii. part ii. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 259 

his eldest son both dead ;* while the inhabitants of 
the duchy, divided into different factions, threatened 
to overthrow all the schemes which had been adopted 
by their former lord. After long discussions, the 
great majority of the people agreed to petition 
Charlemagnef to establish in the ducal seat Grim- 
wald, the second son of Arichis, who some time 
before had been delivered as a hostage to the mon- 
arch of the Franks ; and, in consequence of this 
determination, while the ambassadors of Irene were 
honourably conducted to Naples, messengers were 
despatched to France by the Beneventines, in order 
to ascertain the pleasure of the king. 

In the mean while, Pope Adrian had watched, with 
a jealous eye, all the proceedings which have just 
been detailed, and had sent envoy after envoy to 
Charlemagne, in order to warn him of the negotia- 
tions with Greece. His suspicion of the Beneven- 
tine dukes did not end with the life of Arichis ; and 
fearful that the machinations of that prince might be 
renewed under the reign of Grimwald, he opposed, 
with every argument in his power, the nomination 
of the young Lombard to the dukedom of Beneven- 
tum. J He assured Charlemagne, by letter, that the 
people of that state had bound themselves, by prom- 
ises to the ambassadors of the empress, to pursue 
steadily the schemes of Arichis, if they obtained 
Grimwald for their governor. He informed him 
also, that the Greek commander of Sicily was still 
at Gaeta, carrying on his intrigues with the Bene- 
ventines, § who, on their part, were using every 
exertion to induce the rest of Italy to revolt ; and 
he added a thousand incentives to suspicion, many 
of which, probably, originated in his own fears. In 
short, the terror of the pontiff made him doubt even 



* A. D. 787. Muratori, Rer. Script. Ital. torn. ii. part i. p. 238. 

t Chron. Langobard; Erchemperti, cap. iv. 

t Codex Carolinus, Epist. lxxxviii. lxxiii. xc § Ibid. Epist. lxxiii. 



260 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

the judgment of Charlemagne ;* and his hatred of 
the whole Lombard race urged his opposition to 
Grimwald to the bounds of indecent vehemence. 

Some time had now passed, however, since that 
young prince had begun to accompany the army and 
court of the French monarch ; and while Grimwald 
himself, by the sight of splendid actions, and the 
continual example of great and generous qualities, 
acquired a guiding principle for his own conduct, 
and a sincere love and admiration for his magnani- 
mous sovereign, the King of the Franks had an 
opportunity of seeing and judging the behaviour of 
his hostage, and of appreciating the fine but unde- 
veloped properties of his understanding and his 
heart. This examination had been sufficient to fix 
the determination of Charlemagne. In spite of the 
remonstrances and warnings of the pope, he instantly 
named Grimwaldf to the dukedom which his father 
had held, and sent him back to his dominions, where 
he was received with universal joy. 

Adrian, on reflection, found that perhaps he had 
carried his opposition to an unjustifiable extent ; and 
began to fear that the unwise and fruitless endeavour 
he had made to bias the judgment of the French 
monarch might weaken his influence for the future. 
He accordingly attempted to palliate his conduct, 
and explain^ away his more violent assertions, as 
soon as he found that Charlemagne had decided 
against him. But the behaviour of Grimwald him- 
self was the strongest reproof which the intem- 
perate zeal of the Roman pontiff could meet with. 
Far from entering into the views of the Greek court, 
the young duke instantly evinced his determination 
of keeping the most inviolate faith with his sove- 
reign and benefactor. 

Notwithstanding this change in the policy of 

* A. D. 787-8. 

t Erchempertus, in Chron. Langobard. ; Benevent. cap. iv. 

t Codex Carolinus, Epist. lxxxvi. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 261 

Beneventum, Irene's schemes still continued ; and 
Charlemagne soon learned, that armies were pre- 
paring in the East for the invasion of his Italian 
territories. But other dangers surrounded him at 
the same time, from the persevering treason of the 
fellow-conspirator of Arichis, on whom his menaces 
had produced no further effect than temporary alarm, 
while his clemency had been totally thrown away. 
Scarcely a day passed that the court at Ingelheim 
did not receive news of warlike preparations making 
in Bavaria ; and the Bavarian nobles themselves, 
strongly attached to Charlemagne, gave him private 
intimation that Tassilo was calling from Panonia — 
so long the source of barbarian torrents — new tribes 
of plunderers, to ravage the fertile countries of the 
south, and occupy the arms of his sovereign, while 
he effectually threw off the homage he had so often 
deceitfully rendered. Even at the court of Charle- 
magne himself, the son of the Duke of Bavaria, 
though a hostage for his faith, joined in the intrigue ; 
while his father, imagining that the efforts of the 
Eastern empire would soon call the king into Italy, 
hurried his hostile preparations, to take advantage 
of the monarch's absence. 

Charlemagne* now found that no time was to be 
lost ; and while in person he remained on the Rhine, 
to repel or avert the storm which threatened to 
burst upon him from Hungary and Bavaria, he des- 
patched an army into Italy,f under the command 
of an officer! named Winegisus, in order to co- 

* A complete change, and great refinement of policy, has been seen in 
the conduct of Charlemagne upon the present occasion, because he did 
not go into Italy to meet the efforts of the Greeks. I confess myself I do 
not see any thing in it but the behaviour of a wise man, who, impressed 
with the moral impossibility of being in two places at once, sent a deputy 
to one post of danger, while he himself remained where the peril was 
most imminent. 

t Eginhard, Annales, ann. 788. 

j Eginhard does not absolutely mention the fact, that Winegisus was 
sent upon the present occasion, but when he speaks of the generals 
commanding against the Greeks, he names him as legatum regis; and 



262 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

operate with the Dukes of Spoleto and Beneventum, 
in the defence of the Italian peninsula. The Duke 
of Spoleto was still the same Hildebrand who had 
taken so considerable a share in the conspiracy of 
the Duke of Friuli, but who had afterward, as men- 
tioned in the foregoing pages, obtained pardon and 
favour, and had, by twelve years of faithful service, 
obliterated the memory of his fault, and merited the 
confidence of his sovereign. Of the young Duke of 
Beneventum I have already spoken ; and it is prob- 
able that the very suspicions which the pope had 
lately cast upon him made him the more eager, on 
the present occasion, to distinguish himself in the 
service of his sovereign. 

Having taking these precautions in regard to Italy, 
Charlemagne resolved to cut short at once the pro- 
ceedings of the Duke of Bavaria, and to bring the 
conspiracy to an issue. For this purpose he con- 
cealed studiously all knowledge of Tassilo's re- 
newed treason,* but summoned him, in the common 
feudal form, to appear as his vassal at the usual 
assembly of the nation, which was this year held at 
Ingelheim. The embarrassment into which such a 
summons threw the Duke of Bavaria was very great. 
Condemned by his own conscience, yet unprepared 
to resist the command of his sovereign, if he obeyed 
he exposed himself to punishment-^-if he refused 
he proclaimed his crime. Trusting, however, to 
the secrecy of his negotiations with the Huns or 
Avars, he determined to assume the boldness of in- 
nocence, and to present himself at the court of the 
monarch.f Accordingly, on the meeting of the diet, 
he appeared with a splendid train of vassals and re- 
tainers, but he appeared only to meet the reward of 
his crimes. He was instantly arrested, and accused 

the Tilian Annals positively state, that he was despatched with but few 
followers. 

* Annales Tiliani ; Annales Loiseliani. 

f Eginhaid, Annales, 78b. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 263 

of various acts of treason before the assembly of 
which he had come to form a part. The tribunal, 
consisting of his peers, was one in every respect 
competent to take cognizance of his crime ; and his 
trial, as well as that of his wife and children, was 
proceeded in without delay. Witnesses from their 
own country flocked in, to bear testimony against 
them. That, since the last pardon which the king 
had granted him, Tassilo had again conspired to 
throw off his allegiance,* was proved by a mass of 
evidence,! which he could in no degree invalidate, 
while the implication of his whole family in his 
treason was made equally manifest. Sentence of 
death as a traitor was immediately passed upon the 
duke himself by the unanimous voice of the assem- 
bled nobles ; and all present clamoured for the in- 
stant execution of a man whom they looked upon 
as a disgrace to their order and their nation. 

The awful fate thus suddenly and unexpectedly 
presented to him overcame pride and firmness, 
dignity and courage, in the breast of the unhappy 
Duke of Bavaria ; and, casting himself at the feet of 
the monarch whose clemency he had so often 
abused, he petitioned for life in the most abject 
terms. Charlemagne, ever averse, when he con- 
sulted his own heart, to that cruel anomaly, judicial 
bloodshed, once more interfered to mitigate the 
sentence, though every principle of justice required 
him not to pardon the criminal. That ceremony 
which among the Franks was the invariable sign 
of loss of temporal rank, and eternal seclusion from 
the world, was performed upon Tassilo and his son. 

* Ann. Loiseliani. Ann. Tiliani. 

t The Annals of Loisel are more full on these points than any other, 
— detailing the number of charges against the duke, and representing the 
diet as clamorous for his death. Charles, however, interposed, and, at 
the petition of the criminal himself, commuted his punishment to con- 
finement in a monastery. The Tilian Annals also mention the fact of 
Tassilo having himself prayed to be permitted to wear out his life in 
penitence ; and the Annals of Metz represent him as prostrate on the 
earth at the king's feet 



264 HISTORY OP CHARLEMAGNE. 

Their heads were shaved, as a mark of degradation ; 
and both princes, being confined to a cloister,* found 
it, we are told, as calm a retreatf in after years, as 
it then appeared a happy asylum from the imme- 
diate sight of an ignominious death. Luitberga,J 
the wife of Tassilo and the daughter of Desiderius,^ 
— whose persisting animosity had met ready instru- 
ments in the idle pride and wild ambition of the 
duke — after having witnessed the downfall of her 
father, and aided in the overthrow of her husband 
and her son, was compelled to assume the veil, and 
left in the leisure of reclusion to weep over her 
faults, or madden over her failure, as wisdom or 
passion might dictate. The rest of the Bavarians 
who had joined in the conspiracy of the duke were 
punished with exile ; the country, deprived of its 
separate form of government,|| was divided into 
counties,^" under magistrates appointed by the 
French monarch. 

While these events took place in France, and 
while the final regulations of Bavaria required the 
presence and occupied the time of Charlemagne, 
lis generals in Italy had to encounter the army of 
,he Eastern empire. Before the disposition of Grim- 
vald could be known at Constantinople,** Adalgisus, 
he son of the former King of Lombardy, had set 
iail with John, one of the officers of the empress,ff 

* Tassilo's first retreat was the monastery of St. Nazarius, and after- 
ward that of Jumiege, according to the Annales Nazariani. 

t Eginhard, Annales. 

f All the annals of the time impute to Luitberga the folly and the 
rime of having instigated her husband to his continual and hopeless 
?volts. 

§ Annales Mettensis; Annales Tiliani. 

|| Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni, cap. xi. 

1\ The anonymous chronicle, combined with that of Count Nibelung, 
lys that Charlemagne visited Bavaria himself for the purpose of fixing 
le government, which is confirmed by the Annals of Metz and of Egin- 

ard. 

** That Grimwald had not even arrived in Italy when Adalgisus first 

nded appears from the 90th letter of the Codex Carolinus. 

ft Theophanes. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 265 

accompanied by a considerable fleet. Having been 
joined on the passage by Theodore, governor of 
Sicily, they landed with their united armies on the 
Italian coast. Scarcely had they touched the shore, 
however, ere the young Duke of Beneventum, much 
to their surprise, appeared in arms to oppose their 
farther progress ; and, having effected his junction 
with Hildebrand Duke of Spoleto, and with Wine- 
gisus, and the army of the Franks, Grimwald ad- 
vanced at once to encounter the Greek forces. All 
parties were eager for battle, Adalgisus and Theo- 
dore being as desirous of fighting before Charle- 
magne could arrive, as that monarch's generals 
were of distinguishing themselves during his ab- 
sence. In consequence, no sooner did the two ar- 
mies appear within sight of each other than the en- 
gagement began. The strife was severe and long, 
but at length victory declared herself in favour of 
the Franks, and the Greeks were obliged to fly to 
their ships,* leaving four thousand men dead upon 
the field of battle, and a thousand prisoners in the 
hands of the enemy. 

Theophanes implies that John, the general who 
accompanied Adalgisus, was killed after the battle 
was over. That he fell on this occasion is evident; 
but I know no other writer that alludes to the bar- 
barous cruelty with which the Greek charges the 
generals of the Franks ; and it may be doubted 
whether national and party spirit did not take ad- 
vantage of some vague report to found a calumnious 
assertion. 

This was the last effortf of Adalgisus to recover 
the throne of his father ; and so entirely did he 
disappear, after the period of this expedition, from 
the busy stage of the world, that many of the 
Frankish annalists represent him as dying in the 

* Alcuinus, Epist. ad Colcum. ; D. Bouquet, torn. v. 
t Chron. Sigeberti ; Ann. Eginhardi ; Ann. Loiseliani. 



266 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

battle by which he strove to win back the Lombard 
crown. 

Thus ended, also, the war between Charlemagne 
and Irene — a war which sufficiently proved the 
weakness of the Greek empire. Irene, busied in 
the intrigues of internal policy, forgot her hostility 
to Charlemagne in her struggles with her own son ; 
while the monarch of the Franks suffered the remains 
of the Greek power to exist in Sicily and Calabria,* 
either from pity, contempt, or some political motive 
which has not come down clearly to the present 
times. 

The consequences, however, of the treasonable 
machinations of Tassilo and Arichis were not yet 
fully developed. They had allied themselves, as 
before mentioned, with other powers besides that of 
Greece, and had roused a people in Europe which 
had slumbered for many years after a long period 
of devastation. This nation, even after his fall, 
remembered its treaty with the Duke of Bavaria ; 
and the rapidity with which it proceeded to perform 
its engagements showed that the hand of justice 
had but struck him in time.f 

* I have in vain attempted to ascertain clearly the limits of the 
Frankish and the Greek dominion in Italy at this time. Gianone is not 
satisfactory. From the Codex Carolinus, Epistle lxiv. and lxvi. it is 
evident that Naples still remained subject to Greece ; and from Theo- 
phanes we find that Calabria was so also ; yet the duchy of Beneventum, 
including Salerno, lay partly between the two. Various other difficulties 
occur, which make the line of separation very indistinct. 

t Charlemagne, in the year 788, granted permission to the monks of 
St. Bertinus to hunt in their forests : " Unde fratres consolationem habere 
possint, tarn ad volumina librorum tegenda, quamque et manicias et ad 
zonas faciendus."— D. Bouquet, torn. v. p. 752. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 2G7 



BOOK IX. 

FROM THE CONDEMNATION OF THE DUKE OF BAVARIA, 
TO THE DECREES OF THE COUNCIL OF FRANKFORT. 

FROM A. D. 788 TO A. D. 794. 

Sketch of the History of the Avars — They invade" both Friuli and 
Bavaria— Are defeated on both points— Again invade Bavaria, and 
are repelled — Charlemagne devotes himself to the Civilization of his 
Territories— Interrupted by the Attack of the Weletabes upon the Abro- 
dites— War against the Weletabes — Their Subjection— The Year of 
Peace— Progressive Improvement of France in the useful Arts — 
Negotiations with the Huns — Unsuccessful — Invasion of Hungary — 
Fortifications of that Country— Successes of the French Armies — 
The Felician Heresy— Synod of Ratisbon— Council of Frankfort- 
Li bri Carolini. 

The people who now prepared to attack the em- 
pire of Charlemagne, though called by most of the 
writers by the name of Huns, were not the same 
nation which, under Attila, had menaced the exist- 
ence of the Romans, and ravaged the territories 
both of the East and West. They sprang, however, 
in all probability, from the same origin, occupied 
nearly the same country, and comprised the remnant 
of many of those tribes which had once been united 
under the famous scourge of God. 

When Attila, after his last successful invasion of 
the Roman state, retired before the bribes of the 
weak Valentinian, the eloquence of Leo the Great, 
and the diseases which affected his army, he met, in 
the bed of luxury, the death which he had escaped 
in a thousand battle-fields. The various hordes 
which, consolidated under the dominion of the Huns, 
had fought and triumphed together, having been 
bound to each other by the talents of Attila alone, 
were separated the moment that his spirit had fled. 



268 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

The desire of dominion being no longer directed by- 
one powerful mind against other nations, spread dis- 
union among themselves; and the swords which 
had so long conquered their enemies were now 
turned by the savage tribes against each other. 
The great battle of Netad, where they contended 
for sovereignty over each other, destroyed many, 
and dispersed the rest of the Hunnish confederates ; 
and, scattered in different bodies over the north, 
they were insensibly amalgamated with other peo- 
ple. That tribe which remained perhaps the most 
distinct turned its steps under the command of 
Irnac, one of the sons of Attila, towards the Lesser 
Scythia, where it was encountered, and probably 
afterward subdued, by the other hordes which wan- 
dered continually through the wide pasture-grounds 
of the north; so that it, as well as the rest, becomes 
speedily lost to history. At the same time, the 
Gepidse, who claimed, and perhaps had won, the 
battle of Netad, took possession of Upper Hungary 
and Transylvania, and soon after possessed them- 
selves of part of Panonia and Noricum ; all of which 
territories were destined to be wrested from them 
by a new influx from the source which had given 
rise to themselves. 

It is not my purpose to inquire here which of the 
Tartar nations that poured, during many years, a 
barbarian torrent upon the west, gave origin to the 
tribe afterward calling themselves Avars,* nor to 

* Monsieur de Buat believes that the people who, in Europe, assumed 
the name of the Avars, — a formidable, polished, and dirty nation of 
Caucasus,— were a fugitive tribe, who had no right to that title. Flying 
from before the Turks, he imagines these Varchonites, or Ogors, as he 
calls them, were mistaken by some of the barbarous tribes for the true 
and redoubtable Avars, and finding that epithet produced good conse- 
quences, they adopted it as a sort of travelling name. So visionary a 
theory scarcely needs refutation, and yet De Guisnes has followed in 
the same course, and Gibbon has adopted the story in his text, though 
he sneers at it in a note (chap. xlii.). The Avars, like many other 
powerful nations, were divided into various tribes, and it is probable 
.that the Varchonites, who fled from the victorious arms of the Turks, 
were one of these clans, which had as much right to the name of Avar 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 269 

investigate whether the people which acquired that 
name in Europe really formed a part of the true 
and original Avars, whose possessions extended to 
the most eastern point of Asia, or whether they be- 
longed to the primary stock of the Huns themselves. 
Suffice it, that shortly after the dispersion of the 
hordes of Attila, a warlike and powerful people, call- 
ing themselves Avars, first approached the northern 
part of Europe, driven from their native country by 
the growing power of the Turks. At that time, the 
feeble empire of the East was in the habit of em- 
ploying various barbarian nations in her wars ; and 
the Avars sought and obtained service under the 
emperor Justinian,* who, in the weak craft of his 
dotage, loaded them with presents, in order that 
their arms might be turned against various other 
tribes, more inimical to the imperial crown. Suc- 
cess crowned their efforts, and increased their repu- 
tation and power ; and advancing on their May, they 
conquered almost the whole of European Scythia, 
and incorporated with themselves several of the 
scattered tribes which had formed the Hunnish con- 
federation. 

At length, finding themselves strong, and the East- 
ern empire weak, they boldly threatened the nation 
they had proposed to serve; but the firmness of 
Justin, and the wisdom of his precautions, rendered 
them humbler in their expectations; and turning 
their arms against the north-west of Europe, they 

as any of the rest. It has been one of the madnesses of antiquarian 
research to endeavour to keep the various streams of population distinct, 
when the very reverse was the ordinary course of national advance. A 
petty tribe, almost unknown, was generally the origin of every great 
people. This tribe signalized itself in warfare— speedily amalgamated 
with itself a thousand other families by conquest and alliance,— ventured 
a great battle— gained a great victory— and became a mighty nation. 
Thus, the Turks, from the pettiest of the Geougen hordes, within fifty 
years could bring millions into the field ; and thus the Varchonites, who 
quitted Tartary with 20,000 men, within fifty years contended success- 
fully with the Eastern empire.— See De Guisnes, Hist, des Huns, vol. i. 
part ii. 
* De Buat, Hist. Ancienne des Peuples de l'Europe, vol. Lx. p. 198. 
Z2 



270 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

first attacked the Frankish monarchy on the confines 
of Germany. Defeated by Sigibert King of Aus- 
trasia, they again tried the fortune of battle ; and 
though the Frankish annalists claim victory for their 
monarch, he was obliged to purchase the absence 
and friendship of the invaders. They then leagued 
with Albion King of the Lombards, for the destruc- 
tion of the Gepidae, who were, by that time, the only 
remaining tribe of great importance which had 
formed part of the empire of Attila. On this occa- 
sion, the Avars, with the most profound dissimula- 
tion, obtained from the necessity of the Lombards a 
treaty, by virtue of which all the country and one- 
half of the spoils of the conquered people were to 
be theirs, in the event of success. 

The Lombard arms proved successful in battle 
against the Gepidae, whose country was immediately 
overrun by the Avars. What remained of the van- 
quished nation was incorporated with their con- 
querors, and the whole territory they had inhabited 
became the property of the wandering Scythians. 
Thus Hungary,* now so called, was possessed by 
the Avars, who, joining with themselves a multitude 
of Hunnish tribes, accumulated the immense spoils 
which both they themselves and their equally bar- 
barous predecessors had torn from the other nations 
of Europe. 

From this period, the Avars, under their monarchs, 
called chagans, pursued a long system of aggres- 
sion and negotiation towards the empire of the East, 
which always ended to the advantage of the barba- 
rians. They extended their limits towards Lom- 
bardy, and touched upon the very verge of Bavaria ; 
and in the height of their power, they leagued with 
Chosroesf the Persian, and advanced to the gates 
of Constantinople. Various changes afterward took 
place in their state ; and a fixed residence, the accu- 

* A. D. 567. t De Buat, vol. xii. chap. xii. A. D. 662. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 271 

mulation of an immensity of plunder, habits of lux- 
ury, and the desire of repose, gradually took from 
the Avars, or modern Huns, the first fierce necessity 
of warfare, which expulsion from their own country 
had occasioned, and which, while it lasted, produced 
strength and conquest. Much of their eastern fron- 
tier was now lost, almost without a struggle on their 
part, by the rise of other barbarous nations, espe- 
cially the various tribes of Bulgarians, and we do 
not find them making any great military exertion, 
either to defend themselves or to aggrandize their 
territory, till the year 662, when, at the instigation 
of Grimwald King of Lombardy, they ravaged the 
dukedom of Friuli. From that time history is nearly 
silent concerning them, till, at the period of which I 
now write, we find Tassilo Duke of Bavaria calling 
them to his aid in his ambitious but impotent strug- 
gles against his sovereign.* 

Before the arrest and condemnation of that un- 
happy prince, his negotiations with the Huns had 
been carried to a conclusion ; and two armies of 
Scythians were already prepared ; the one to pour 
into Lombardy and divert the forces of Charlemagne 
to that quarter, and the other to enter Bavaria and 
support the rebellion of the duke. Whether the 
discovery of his treason and the condemnation of 
Tassilo were known in Hungary or not, when the 

* Monsieur de Buat is wrong in supposing that the journey of 
Theodot King of Lombard}' to Constantinople, mentioned by Theophanes, 
in 776, applies to an embassy from Tassilo Duke of Bavaria, in the person 
of Theodon his son. Tehophanes throughout calls Adalgisus Theodotus, 
attributing uniformly to the person he so names all the actions of the 
son of Desiderius. Thus, in the ninth year of Irene, A. D. 788, he says 
that the empress despatched Theodotus to Italy with a fleet, &c, which 
was the case in regard to Adalgisus, but could not refer to Theodon, the 
son of Tassilo, who by that time had been shaved and confined in a 
monastery, after having been for a year detained as hostage at the French 
court. Nor is Monsieur de Buat more correct in regard to Oger, or 
Otharius, who is represented by the Monk of St. Gall as present with 
Desiderius when Charlemagne besieged Pavia. No doubt can exist, that 
instead of a Bavarian agent of Tassilo, he was the same Autcarius who 
fled to Lombardy with Giberga, the widow of Carloman. 



272 HISTORY OP CHARLEMAGNE. 

Panonian armies began their march, we are not told ; 
but, notwithstanding his fall, the Huns kept their 
engagements to the letter ; and early in the year 
invaded both Friuli and Bavaria. 

Their irruption into the first named province was 
instantly repelled by the vigour and conduct of the 
Frankish governors ; and in a sharp conflict which 
took place on the occasion, the arms of the Christians 
were completely victorious. In Bavaria, where they 
probably calculated on more certain success from 
their alliance with the duke, they were equally un- 
successful. Tassilo no longer held the reins of 
government; and the inhabitants of the country, 
whose attachment to the monarch of the Franks I 
have had occasion to notice, instantly prepared to 
resist the invaders.* Two envoys from Charle- 
magne, also, named Grahamannus and Audacrus, 
were present with a small body of troops ; and 
directed the movements of the Bavarian forces. 
The two armies encountered each other in the open 
country, near Ips, on the Danube, and the Huns were 
here defeated and driven back with even greater 
loss than they had suffered in Friuli. 

They must have become aware by this time that 
the original object of their expedition was now un- 
attainable ; and that the fate of their ally, the Duke 
of Bavaria, was sealed. But personal revenge sup- 
plied a motive for further exertions, and a fresh army 
was immediately raised by the Avars, to avenge the 
loss of their countrymen, and wipe away the dis- 
grace of defeat. Once more passing the Danube,! 
the forces of the Huns entered Bavaria, but were 
encountered anew by the Franks and Bavarians ; 
and after a more severe and total defeat than before, 
were forced to fly in confusion, leaving an immense 
number of their companions dead upon the field of 

* Annates Mettensis: Ann. Tiliani; Ann. Loiseliani : Ann. Bertiniani. 
t A. D. 788. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 273 

battle, and still more swallowed up in the waters of 
the Danube.* 

To this active warfare between the Franks and 
the Huns succeeded one of those cold suspensions 
of hostility which augur any thing but peace. On 
the one part the Avars were alarmed and astonished 
at the event of the war — so different from that which 
a thousand traditions of success had taught them 
to expect — and ceased their irruptions in order to 
collect their forces, and measure the strength of 
their adversary. On the other hand, Charlemagne 
also paused to consolidate his dominions, and to 
guard and regulate that territory which the revolt 
and fall of his vassal Tassilo had brought more im- 
mediately under his own superintendence. 

Accordingly, as soon as he found that his presence 
in the centre of his dominions was no longer neces- 
sary for the protection of the whole, he proceeded 
through Bavaria in person, fixing the government as 
he intended it to remain for the future, and fortify- 
ing the frontier against any new aggression. When 
this necessary duty was completed, the monarch 
returned to Aix-la-Chapelle, where he spent the 
winter in regulating the affairs of the church, and 
the internal police of his kingdom. 

We cannot, of course, trace the whole of the 
monarch's efforts for the perfect establishment of 
order and tranquillity, in realms which for centuries 
had been torn by anarchy and strife. Nor can we 
always discover the motives for various laws origin- 
ating in a state of society, with the general situa- 
tion of which we may be fully acquainted, and yet 
be ignorant of many of the inferior details. It is 
but fair, however, under such circumstances to look 
upon those laws with a favourable eye ; and where 
it is necessary to have recourse to indirect conclu- 
sions, to consider the general character of Charle- 

, *Chroii. Adonis; Ann. Loiseliani; Ann. Eginhard. 



274 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

niagne's designs, and to suppose the same motives 
which we discover in the rest of his actions, to have 
influenced those where no other cause is apparent. 

The regulation of the church, and the preservation 
of its purity, both in doctrinal points and in the lives 
of its servants, was always a great object with a 
monarch one of whose chief engines of civilization 
was the Christian religion; and the principal acts 
which we find attributed to him in the present year 
have chiefly this tendency. Such was the composi- 
tion, by his command, of a book of homilies by the 
famous Lombard historian called Paul the Deacon, 
and the order for these homilies to be read in all the 
churches. A general council* was also held at Aix- 
la-Chapelle, for the purpose of reforming abuses in 
the Gallican church ; and a capitulary was issued, 
in which, as well as various regulations respecting" 
the clergy, are to be found many useful and many 
curious laws. Among the last are prohibitions 
against divination, either by dipping into the Evan- 
gelists, and applying the first passage met with as a 
prophecy, — a mode then common, — or by any other 
method ; against the practice of baptizing bells ; and 
against the custom of keeping hounds, falcons, or 
jesters by bishops, abbots, or abbesses. 

The more peaceful occupations of Charlemagne, 
however, were never suffered to continue very long, 
and, indeed, could seldom be protracted beyond that 
season of the year when the severity of the weather 
and the scantiness of forage kept his armies from 
the field. A new cause of warfare soon called the 
attention of the monarch, both from the internal 
regulations in which he was engaged, and from the 
unconcluded hostilities which he had been carrying 
on against the Huns. 

The more immediate aggression of a Sclavonianf 

* Baluzius, torn. i. p. 209. 
t Eginhard, Ann. A. D. 789.; 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 275 

tribe, called Weletabes, or Wiltzes, inhabiting the 
northern part of Germany, near Brandenburgh and 
Pomerania, from the Elbe to the Baltic, induced the 
French king to march at once against them. This 
aggression, it is true, was rather directed against the 
allies and tributaries of the Franks than against the 
Franks themselves ; but it is not unworthy of ob- 
servation, that, with wise zeal, Charlemagne strove 
to make his friendship valuable to the nations round 
about by the promptitude and certainty of his efforts 
to protect them, and on all occasions showed more 
active vigour in defending a friend or an ally, than 
even in repelling an irruption upon his own territory, 
or avenging an insult to his own crown. Many per- 
sonal causes, in the present instance, contributed to 
render it imperatively necessary for Charlemagne to 
act vigorously against the Weletabes. Their con- 
tempt of his power had been displayed in a quarter 
where his authority had not yet been confirmed by 
time. The Saxons were the daily witnesses of their 
incursions upon the Abrodites, and other tribes de- 
pendent upon France ; and the French monarch soon 
found that the insolence of a petty people whom he 
contemned might, if unpunished, produce the insur- 
rection of a country from which he had much to 
apprehend. 

In the spring of 789 he accordingly made every 
preparation for an early and active campaign. He 
called together a considerable army of Franks, min- 
gled with these more trustworthy forces a large 
band of Saxons,* and commanded the Frisons to 
ascend the Elbe in their small vessels, while the 
Abrodites, and other nations who had suffered from 
the aggressionsf of the people he was about to pun- 
ish, made great efforts to second his design with all 
their power. 

* Ann. Loiseliani. 

t Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Mag. 



276 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

As soon as these arrangements were completed, 
Charlemagne passed the Rhine at Cologne,* and tra- 
versing the whole of Saxony, reached the banks of 
the Elbe. Here, however, he paused. The country 
before him was wild and unexplored, the inhabitants 
warlike and active, while in the rear of his army lay 
a nation — extending over a space of several hundred 
miles — whose subjection was forced, whose hatred 
he had little reason to doubt, and whose perfidy was 
known by long experience. 

The loss of a battle, scarcity of provisions, or a 
thousand other emergencies might compel him to 
retreat with precipitation; and no deep political sa- 
gacity was required to show that the Saxons would 
rise on the slightest misfortune which might befall 
him, and endeavour to obstruct, or prevent entirely, 
the repassage of the Elbe. To guard against this 
danger, Charlemagne paused on the banks of the 
river, and employed his army during several days in 
constructing two bridges across it, one of which he 
fortified strongly at either extremity with a fort of 
wood and earth,f which, being sufficiently garri- 
soned, secured a retreat in case of discomfiture. 
The monarch then advanced into the heart of the 
enemy's territory, and a long and desultory warfare 
succeeded, in which no general battle was fought, 
and the subjection of the country effected rather by 
persevering efforts than by any one decisive blow. 

The chiefs of the various tribes composing the 
nation of the Weletabes yielded to the superior 
discipline of the Franks, and, one after another, 
sacrificed their independence, by taking the oath of 
homage prescribed by the -victor.J Hostages of 
their faith were demanded and given, and, whether 
from soon learning to appreciate the benefits of a 
civilized government, or from having at once felt 

* Ann. Eginhard. 

f Ann. Loiseliani ; Ann. Eginhard. 

t Annates Mettensis. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 277 

the impossibility of successful resistance, the Wele- 
tabes adhered firmly to their vow, and never 
attempted to shake off the yoke which had been 
imposed upon them, till moved by the influence of 
a greater power. 

Having thus terminated with ease an expedition 
which had appeared fraught with dangers and diffi- 
culties, Charlemagne repassed the Elbe, and returned 
to Worms,* where he entered the year 790, cele- 
brated as a year of peace. 

It is probable, however, that the twelve months 
which succeeded would not have passed so tran- 
quilly if the Chagan of the Huns, or Avars, had not 
made the first advances towards a termination of the 
differences between France and Hungary, by send- 
ing ambassadors to the court of the French mon- 
arch,! with the ostensible purpose of settling the 
respective boundaries of the two kingdoms on the 
Bavarian frontier. Whether the object of the cha- 
gan was solely to amuse the King of France till 
Hungary was again prepared for warfare, or whether 
the enchantments of self-interest on both sides 
blinded the eyes of the two monarchs to simple 
justice, and created those unreasonable exactions 
which too often obstruct the arrangement of the 
simplest claims, cannot now be told, from the want 
of all minute information in the writings of contem- 
poraries. The general facts, however, are clear. 
The ambassadors of the chagan did not accomplish 
the purpose of their mission, if it was really a peace- 
ful one, and retired from the court of the French 
monarch without any definitive determination of the 
points which they had been sent to discuss. After 
their departure, Charlemagne, in return, despatched 
messengers to the court of Hungary ; but this mission 

* Monsieur Gaillard is incorrect in stating this to have been the first 
year which Charlemagne had spent without war. The year 781, which 
was passed in Italy, records no hostility. 

fAnn. Poet. Saxon; Ann. Eginhard,790. 

Aa 



278 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

proved not more fruitful than the other, and soon 
terminated, leaving all parties more disposed to hos- 
tility than ever.* 

While these transactions were taking place, Charle- 
magne, as if to enjoy to the full the year of tranquil- 
lity which he had snatched like a flower from amid 
the thorns of war, visited various parts of his domin- 
ions, and inspected personally several of the build- 
dings which were proceeding by his command 
throughout the empire. His first visit of the kind 
was to a new palacef which he was raising at Seltz, 
and round which the infant stream of the Sale mur- 
mured amid some of the most beautiful scenery in 
Germany. The church and monastery of St. Ritha- 
rius,| also, were this year completed, under his 
especial care and direction ; and we are told that 
skilful artificers in wood§ and stone, in glass and 
marble, were sent by the monarch for the decora- 
tion of the building, while an immense number of 
extremely strong vehicles were despatched to Rome, 
for the purpose of procuring materials from the ruins 
of the glorious past. Descriptions of the construc- 
tion of a great many ecclesiastical buildings, begun 
about this time, have come down to us ; and on no 
part of his general scheme for improving his domin- 
ions does Charlemagne seem to have bestowed 
more pains than on the cultivation of architectural 
science. Although of that science Rome now 
possessed scarcely a vestige, she still offered the 
choicest models and materials that France could 
procure ; and the various journeys both of Charle- 
magne himself and of the workmen he at different 
times sent to Italy greatly contributed to the im- 

* Ado Bishop of Vienne, who died in 875, and therefore lived while 
the memory of the Hunnish war was still fresh in the minds of men, 
declares that the Avars continued to ravage the frontiers of Bavaria, 
burning the cities and the churches 

t Ann. Poet. Saxon. 

jChron. Acutulensis. 

$ Artifices doctissimos ligni et lajiidis, vitri et mannoria. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 279 

provement of art in his native country. The advance 
of society in Gaul had been very great since the fall 
of the Merovingian dynasty ; and the year of peace 
which now intervened was in no degree lost to the 
people of Charlemagne. They had, indeed, much 
need of some pause in the gratification of their 
natural propensity to war, in order to permit the 
growth of those milder arts which the monarch 
was so anxious to cultivate, notwithstanding the 
warlike character of his own mind. It is not, how- 
ever, to be supposed, although each year had been 
almost uniformly passed by the Franks in hostile 
expeditions, that the useful branches of knowledge 
had hitherto made little advance during the reign of 
Charlemagne. On the contrary, we find that their 
progress* had been rapid and continual. 

Unfortunately the state of commerce and industry 
at that remote period can only be learned from the 
vague mention of facts and events to be found 
occasionally in the midst of an immense extent of 
desultory and irrelevant writing. Nevertheless, it 
is evident, even from these casual notices, that 
France had been rendered by this time the most 
cultivated country in Europe (with the exception 
of the Eastern empire), as far, at least, as regarded 
trade and manufacture. The stores of ancient learn- 
ing, and the remains of ancient magnificence, were 
still the ruined inheritance of prodigal Rome ; but 
even prior to the year of which I now write, we 
find Rome herself applying to the monarch of the 
Franksf for skilful workmen and overseers, to 
superintend those architectural labours for which 
Italy had been once renowned, and demanding those 

* By the capitulary of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 789, mentioned before, he had 
commanded that the bishops should establish two sorts of schools, — one 
for mere children, where reading and writing was to be taught generally 
— and one in the churches and monasteries, where church music, gram- 
mar, arithmetic, and various other branches of science were the subjects 
of instruction. 

t Codex Carolinus, Epist. Ixi. Ixvi. 



280 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

materials for the construction and reparation of her 
buildings which the commerce of France could alone 
supply.* Various collateral proofs of the extent of 
this commerce are derived from the letters and 
annals of the day, among which proofs one of the 
most convincing is, the fact of the great facility 
with which ponderous and unwieldy objects were 
transported for considerable distances. Thus we 
learn that entire marble columns and immense stone 
crosses were sent overland through the whole 
extent of France on many occasions, and were 
uniformly carried in vehicles of French construc- 
tion, f A regular system of port duties also was 
established, the collector-general of which we find 
distinctly mentioned ;% and it would appear, from 
the same authority, that the right of trading to 
France was considered of great importance to the 
neighbouring countries, — so much so, indeed, that 
Charlemagne is reported to have threatened to pro- 
hibit the commerce between England and France 
as the severest punishment he could inflict on OrTa, 
sovereign of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, 
who had given him cause for anger. These facts, 
as well as the laws concerning mercantile transac- 
tions, in which various articles of luxury are ex- 
pressly mentioned as in common use, and as ordi- 
nary matters of traffic,^ tend to show that art had 
reached a greater height among the Franks at this 
time than has been generally supposed. The vases 
and cups of gold and silver, carved and embossed 
with a thousand complicated figures — the silver 
tables, richly chased, representing cities and coun- 
tries — the bracelets, rings, and ornamented belts — 
together with the praises bestowed on the work- 

* Among other demands which the pope addresses to the emperor is a 
request for two thousand pounds of tin, and for large beams for the roof 
of the church of St. Peter. 

t Codex Carolinus, passim. 

i Chron. Fantanellensis. 

§ BaruziU3, Capitul. torn. i. p. 399. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 281 

manship, — prove that the arts of luxury, which 
always follow far behind those of necessity, were 
known, cultivated, and esteemed at this period.* 
In addition to this, the fact of tablecloths of fine 
linen having been then in use shows the perfection 
to which a branch of industry had been carried that 
always speaks a considerable degree of refinement 
in the nation by which it is practised. The skilful 
manufacture of iron, also, and the strict and severe 
laws which forbade the exportation of arms, afford 
another instance of the superiority of the Franks at 
that time to the nations round about them ; and a 
thousand other circumstances might be adduced to 
show, that — however much literature and taste were 
still inferior to what they appeared in some of the 
ages which preceded, and in some which followed — 
yet the necessary and the convenient arts were 
carried to a height which we do not usually attribute 
to the eighth century. 

The advantage to be derived by states from the 
promotion of industry, and the cultivation of every 
species of knowledge, was never lost to the sight 
of Charlemagne ; and he snatched each interval of 
repose, to secure all those facilities to commerce 
and manufacture by which alone they can be brought 
to flourish and increase. 

To afford to all the efforts of labour, by clear and 
comprehensive laws, both instant protection and 
adequate return, was one great purpose of his legis- 
lation; and we find a large proportion of all his 
capitularies dedicated to the object of guarding 
merchants from unjust exactions, as well as that of 
enforcing the performance of bargains, and ensuring 
justice in all mercantile transactions. f 

From his capitularies, also, we derive many small 
points of information, which, though seemingly 

* Le Grand d'Aussy, vol. iii. p. 164. 

fBaluzius, Capit. vol. i. p. 424 ; Capit. Ann. 805. 

Aa2 



282 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

unimportant, and sometimes even ridiculous, tend 
greatly to show the state of society in France at 
that time ; and while the general scope and tendency 
of these laws offer the best representation of the 
monarch's mind, the minute particulars often fur- 
nish a more curious and interesting portrait of the 
manners of his country and his age, than circum- 
stances of far greater apparent importance could 
supply. 

Where there exist many facilities for a traveller 
to procure refreshment and repose, we may gene- 
rally conclude that the traffic of the country is 
great, and the state of civilization considerable. In 
this point of view, the fact that, in the reign of 
Charlemagne, taverns, where both meat and drink 
were to be procured, existed throughout France, is 
not insignificant ;* and the number of laws in regard 
to watching the bridges and the highways, and 
guarding against those who were likely either to 
injure individuals or to destroy public works, pre- 
sents a singular picture of the struggle between the 
premature civilization of the sovereign's mind and 
the lingering barbarism of his people. 

The principal domestic occurrence attributed to 
this year of Charlemagne's life is the provision of a 
distinct jurisdiction for his eldest son. Some time 
previous to this period, he had apportioned to the 
two younger brothers, Pepin and Louis, separate 
territories, the government of which, under his own 
eye, educated them to the use of authority, and 
accustomed them to the responsibility of command. 
His eldest son, Charles, had remained at his father's 
court unportioned; and, though the dominions to 
which he was to succeed were sufficiently vast to 
gratify even an ambitious mind, yet Charlemagne 

*This is ascertained by a law forbidding monks from entering the 
taverns for the purposes of eating and drinking in them.— See Baluzius, 
Capitularia regum Francorum, vol. i. p. 515 ; Capitular, incerti anni, 
cap. iv. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 283 

this year bestowed upon him* the duchy of Maine, 
one of the richest and most beautiful provinces of 
France, as a foretaste of the sovereignty which he 
was afterward to enjoy. 

The conflagration of his palace at Worms, and the 
continual news of warlike preparation on the part 
of the Huns, were the only events which disturbed 
Charlemagne's tranquillity during the year 790. But 
the first of these evilsf was not so complete as to 
oblige him to change his residence ; and against the 
latter he took those prompt measures of precaution 
which he always employed with success in averting 
or repelling attack. Finding that the Chagan of the 
Avars still continued to claim a part of Bavaria, and 
that the subjects of that prince made frequent pre- 
datory excursions upon the frontiers of the country, 
the monarch of the Franks, as winter approached, 
despatched a considerable force! towards the scene 
of contention. 

Whether he had at this time absolutely determined 
to carry the war into Hungary itself, or whether the 
measure was merely, as I have said, one of precau- 
tion, in order to guard his territory from attack, till 
the negotiations which were still pending should be 
terminated, does not clearly appear. It is probable, 
however, that towards Charlemagne the Avars, or 
Huns, made use of the same mixture of cunning and 
insolence which they had displayed successfully in 
their conduct towards the empire^ of the East, on 
their first entrance into Europe ; and it is evident that 
the discussions were protracted for a great length of 
time, and were not broken off till the end of the year. 
But Charlemagne was not to be turned from his 
purpose ; and the moment the spring arrived, he was 

*Ann. Mettens. ; Chron. Brev. Duchesne, torn, iii.p. 126. This fact 
appears to me to be perfectly clear, notwithstanding a learned but unsatis- 
factory dissertation in the Memoirs of the Academy of Belles Lettres. 

fAnn. Eginhard. 

% Fragment. Aanal. anon. D. Bouquet, vol. v. p. 26, ann. 790. 

$ De Buat, Hist, Ancienne des Peuples, Uv. xii. chap. Ui. 



284 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

once more at the head of his armies, prepared to 
pursue the war with more than usual vigour. He 
well knew the great resources of the country he 
was about to invade, its natural and its artificial 
defences, and the courage and resolution of its 
inhabitants; and, though he both contemned the 
arrogance which we find from all historians that 
the Avars displayed, and felt that confidence of 
victory which is often both a presage and a means 
of success, he prepared for a war of a more serious 
character than any which he had hitherto under- 
taken, and had recourse to measures and precau- 
tions which he had previously neglected to employ. 

These precautions were to be taken for the secu- 
rity of the territories which he left behind him, as 
well as for the conquest of those which he invaded. 
The paths of conquerors are always on volcanoes, 
and each step may be shaken by an earthquake ; for, 
in most instances, it requires a longer space of time 
than the life of one man so far to amalgamate a 
subdued people with their victors as to render any 
one footfall of ambition secure, in the whole march 
of hostile aggrandizement. Many have been the 
means employed to assimilate nations more rapidly; 
and the most rational, as well as the most successful, 
has been that practised by Charlemagne, of endeav- 
ouring to overcome national prejudices and the bitter 
memory of subjection by a community of interest, 
and a participation of endeavour and reward. This 
plan had produced the most happy consequences in 
regard to the Lombards, who, fighting side by side 
with the Franks, had become identified with them 
in victory and glory; and Charlemagne hoped, by 
the same measures, to bend the Saxons in the same 
degree. 

A large body of that people* was accordingly 
incorporated with his army, and destined to march 

* Chron. Moissiac. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 285 

against the Huns, probably with the double view of 
employing a number of fierce and active men at a 
distance from their own country, and in a situation 
where they could not revolt, and of habituating 
them to the customs, the religion, and the discipline 
of the Franks. His whole forces were then disposed 
in three great divisions ; and, having taken measures 
to ensure a regular supply of all things necessary for 
the expedition,* he marched towards the frontier of 
the enemy. The plan of his campaign was one well 
calculated to secure success. The army which had 
been previously sent forward to Bavaria, together 
with the troops raised in that country, were com- 
manded to descend the Danube in boats,f which 
contained also abundant military stores and provi- 
sions. He himself marched forward with a large 
force, on the southern side of the river ; and his 
generals, Theoderic and Meginfried,| led the third 
division, composed of Saxons and oriental Franks, 
along the northern bank of the stream. Although 
these dispositions would, in all probability, have 
determined the event of the opening war, Charle- 
magne omitted nothing which might procure a 
speedy and fortunate issue to his enterprise ; and, 
before entering Hungary, he despatched messengers 
to his son§ Pepin, King of Italy, requiring him to 
march, with the Duke of Friuli and the Lombard 
forces, upon the frontier of the Avars, and co-operate 
with the other troops, which he was leading against 
that nation from the west. 

Much of the success of an invasion, of course, 
depends upon the nature of the invaded country; 

*Eginhard, Ann. 791. tChron. Moissiac. JEginhard, Ann. 

§ The sons of Charlemagne, appointed to the government of kingdoms 
even in their infancy, were under the general guidance of a sort of gov- 
ernors, called bajuli. The tutor, or governor, of Louis King of Aquitaine, 
was Arnulph ; (a) and it is probable, that the Duke of Friuli, who, we find, 
accompanied Pepin King of Italy in all his expeditions, filled the same 
office in regard to him. 

(a) See the Life of Louis la Debonair, by the Astronomer. 



286 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

and the territory of the Huns was defended in so 
peculiar a manner, that it may be well to consider 
for a moment the difficulties which opposed the 
progress of the French monarch. A more distinct 
account of the Hungarian dominions in that day 
has come down to us than the old annalists often 
furnish on any subject. But that account is so 
extraordinary in itself, that each writer who has 
since touched upon the history of Charlemagne has 
endeavoured to explain, according to his own ideas, 
the description furnished by the Monk of St. Gall, 
from the words of an eyewitness. Some have 
magnified, and some have softened, the particulars 
of this account ; but the fact of the country of the 
Avars having been guarded by fortifications of a 
very ingenious and perfectly singular nature is 
admitted by all.* The whole country, we are told, 
was surrounded by nine circles of double palisading, 
formed of trunks of trees, twenty feet in height. 
The interstice of the double palisade was twenty 
feet in width, which was filled with stone and com- 
pact lime, while the top of the whole, covered with 
vegetable earth, was planted with living shrubs. At 
the distance of twenty Teutonic, or forty Italian, 
miles from the first circle, or hegin, as it is called, 
was a second internal one, fortified in the same 
manner; and thus the country presented fortress 
after fortress, from the outer palisade to the small 
inner circle, or ring, as the writers of that day term 
it, within which the accumulated wealth of ages 
was guarded by the Avars. The space between the 
various ramparts was filled by a woody country, so 
thronged with towns and villages that a trumpet 
could be heard from the one to the other ; and the 
means of egress from the inner to the external 
circles, or from the extreme boundary to the neigh- 
bouring countries, consisted alone in very narrow 

* Monachus Sangallensia, lib. ii. cap. ii 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 287 

sally-ports, pierced in various parts of the pali- 
sades. 

Such is the description given by a person who 
wrote within a century of the events he narrates ; 
who received his account from one of the officers 
of the monarch ; and who addresses his work to an 
immediate descendant of Charlemagne.* But when 
we remember that other parts of his work are full 
of errors and absurdities, and find that, among the 
annalists of the time, his statement is confirmed by 
little but vague allusions to extensive fortifications, 
and the still more vague traditions of after years, 
we shall feel inclined to reject the particulars as 
hyperbolical, if not totally false, while we admit the 
general fact of the country having been carefully 
secured by strong artificial defences of a singular 
kind. 

In addition to these obstacles to the progress of 
a conqueror, the people of Hungary were known to 
be a hardy, bold, and persevering race, so that it re- 
quired the exertion of all his vast resources to ensure 
the success of Charlemagne's enterprise. The pre- 
parations necessary for carrying on the war upon 
the extensive scale which these circumstances de- 
manded delayed the French monarch so long, that 
the month of September! had commenced before he 
reached the banks of the river Ens, which at that 
time formed the boundary of Bavaria. From that 
moment, however, no time was lost ere he proceeded 
to put in execution the plan he had formed for his 
campaign. He immediately entered the country of 
the Avars ; and no resistance in the open field seems 
to have preceded his attack of the fortresses which 
lay in his way. Three of these were immediately 



* On these presumptions of his veracity, the writings of the Monk of 
St. Gall have been strongly supported ; but he is not, unfortunately, the 
first writer who has dedicated falsehood to a khig, or, with means of ac- 
quiring truth, has taken pains to disseminate error. 

t Ann. Eguihard, A. V. 791. 



288 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

taken by the monarch, sword in hand, and he then 
marched forward with his usual rapid advance, laying 
waste the country, till he reached the banks of the 
Raab, which he crossed, and, following the course 
of that river, only halted at its junction with the 
Danube. 

Here Charlemagne encamped for some days, and 
received the news of the success of his son Pepin,* 
who, with the Duke of Friuli, had entered the terri- 
tories of the Huns, and, encountering their army 
almost immediately, had totally defeated them, with 
immense slaughter. Every promise of success, 
therefore, had hitherto attended the expedition of 
the French monarch ; but at this time one of the 
most terrible scourges which could afflict an army 
almost entirely composed of cavalry, fell upon that 
of Charlemagne : a pestilential disease broke out 
among the horses, with such violence that before 

* Epist. Car. Mag. ad Fastradam ; Dom Bouquet, tome v. page 623. 
A passage in this epistle seems, in some slight degree, to confirm the 
account of the Monk of St. Gall ; although, were his description not 
extant, it must be confessed no one would have understood the exist- 
ence of such fortifications from the terms in which Charles expresses 
himself. After relating the invasion of Hungary by Pepin, and the 
defeat of the Avars by that prince and his companions, he says, " Et 
exspoliaverunt ipsum vnllvm et sederunt ibidem ipsa node." The pre- 
cise meaning of vallum, in ancient fortification, I believe to be a trench 
and palisade ; but Charles never mentions the attack of any fortress, 
merely saying, " pervenerunt infra fines ipsontm;" from which we may 
deduce, perhaps, that the whole country was thus defended, and that the 
vallum which the Franks plundered after the battle was the space 
between the outer and an inner circle of palisade. 

The Annals of Metz, however, describe a more regular line of fortifica- 
tion ; and though, as a much later record, it is not of the same authority 
as the accounts of contemporaries, it may serve to show the true mean- 
ing of the vague terms in which contemporaries have spoken. " Et ita 
pergentes pervenerunt iiluc, ubi jam Avares municiones paraverunt; de 
Australi parte ad Cuunberc, de Aquilonali vero" ripa in loco qui dicitur 
Camp : sic enim nominatur ille fluvius, qui influit in Danubium. Itaque 
Avares cum ex utraque ripae parte vidissent exercitum, et classem per 
medium fluvium venientem, tantus terror super eos cecidit, ut dimis- 
sis praesidiis munitionum, fugas latibula qusrerunt." — Ann. Mettens. 
A. D. 791. . 

This chronicle is supposed to have been composed in the year 903, 
and was copied from preceding annals, which were, in all probability 
contemporary 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 289 

the sovereign could effect his retreat into Bavaria, 
nine-tenths of those which he had brought with him 
had perished.* 

Notwithstanding this disaster, the retreat of the 
Franks was not followed by any of those terrible 
consequences which might have taken place, had 
the Avars awoke from the panic into which the 
rapid motions and immense forces of the French 
monarch had thrown them, in time to take advantage 
of the opportunity which accident produced in their 
favour. The Franks were suffered to retire unmo- 
lested, and carried with them an immense quantity 
of booty,f as well as an innumerable multitude of 
prisoners. Thus far successful, it would seem that 
Charlemagne, at the time of his return, was fully- 
determined to pursue the war he had commenced, 
to the utter subversion of the power of the Huns ; 
but circumstance, that mighty disappointer of the 
best-laid designs, intervened, and the monarch of the 
Franks never more set his foot within the confines 
of Panonia as a warrior. 

In accordance with his intention, however, of 
re-entering Hungary early in the spring, he pro- 
ceeded no farther on his return towards France than 
Ratisbon, where he employed the winter in con- 
structing a bridge of boatsj across the Danube, and 
in examining a new heresy which had arisen in the 
church. 

As this investigation tended not alone to the refu- 
tation of an idle schismatic, but brought on discus- 
sions attended with more important historical con- 
sequences, we must pause upon the subject longer 
than would have been otherwise necessary. Some 
short time before the precise period of which I write, 
Felix, who had been established Bishop of Urgel, a 
city within the limits of the Spanish march, had 
declared his belief, that Christ was merely the Son 

*Eginhard, Annates, 791. f Ohron. Moissiac. % Eginhard, AnnaleB. 

Bb 



290 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

of God by adoption, and maintained his nature to 
have been human. This doctrine was first promul- 
gated by him in a letter addressed to the Bishop of 
Toledo ; but, not contented with the simple assertion 
of his own opinions, he endeavoured to propagate 
them by various writings ; and was, in consequence, 
brought before Charlemagne at Ratisbon. A coun- 
cil was immediately called by the king, consisting 
of such French prelates as happened to be in the 
neighbourhood at the time. By these the opinions 
of Felix were condemned as heretical, and he him- 
self was sent to Rome for the judgment of Pope 
Adrian, to whom he confessed his error, and from 
whose hands he* received absolution.! 

His doctrine, however, had gained ground : many 
of the Spanish bishops had embraced the Felician 
heresy ;| and it was found necessary to hold a more 
full and general synod at Frankfort, to consider the 
subject with greater solemnity and deliberation. In 
this assembly, Alcuin^ pleaded against the errors of 
Felix ; and a solemn condemnation of the opinions 
of that prelate was again pronounced, and generally 
promulgated, together with Charlemagne's profes- 
sion of faith. Disputations on points of doctrine 
almost always lead to the examination of new sub- 
jects, and the excitation of new disputes. It is prob- 
able, that had the Felician heresy never been exam- 
ined,! the council of Frankfort might never have 

* Ann. Mettensis ; Ann. Fuldensis ; Ann. Eginhard. 

f Notwithstanding the fact of his confession and absolution, he is said" 
by some writers to nave persisted in his opinions, and to have died in 
them at Lyons. — Chron. Adonis. 

$Supp. Paul. Diacon. ad. ann. 794 ; Chron. Lamberti Shafnaburg; 
Epist. Car. Mag. ad Elepandum; Concil. Gall. vol. ii. page 186. 

§Tbe Benedictines in the chronology which they have affixed to the 
life of Alcuin (cap. vii ), where this fact is mentioned, place it in the year 
799 ; and the anonymous author states it to have taken place at Aix-la- 
Cbapelle. I, however, retain the date and place which I had originally 
given, because I do not find from other authorities that the heresy of Felix 
was discussed at Aix in the year 799, aud we know that Alcuin had 
returned to France before 794. 

II A. D, 794. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 291 

been held ; but, as it was, after deciding upon the 
first question, the assembled bishops proceeded to 
discuss the famous Nicene council (the second of 
Nice), by the authority of which the Empress Irene 
had restored the worship of images. 

Either sufficient folly, superstition, or civilization 
was wanting in the Frankish assembly to adopt the 
pure idolatry of the Greek church ; and the council 
of Nice was, consequently, declared by the council 
of Frankfort to be useless and invalid, and its decrees 
were unanimously rejected.* On this last occasion 
two legates! were present on the part of the pope, 
who had previously disavowed the messengers 
which had appeared in his name at the council of 
Nice.J Nevertheless, it can hardly be supposed 
that the Roman pontiffs, whose separation from 
Greece had for its motive and justification the abo- 
lition of idol worship at Constantinople, would will- 
ingly countenance the rejection of the same idolatry 
in France. 

No sooner had the council of Frankfort decided 
upon this question, than the priests and learned men, 
who were gathered together by the patronage of 
Charlemagne for very different purposes, united to 
compose a long and studious refutation of the doc- 
trines of the Nicene council. The book, or rather 
books, thus produced (called the Libri Carolini), 
though somewhat scurrilous, and not very argument- 
ative, received the sanction of Charlemagne, were 
honoured with his name, and were sent, together 
with an epistle, to the Roman pontiff^ by the hands 
of Angelbert,|| one of the ministers of the monarch. 

*Ann. Tiliani; Ann. Eginhard. 

t Those were Stephen and Theophelactes. 

X Gibbon, chap. 49. § Epist. Alcuini Abbat. 

|| He is called ministrum capellae, which is translated, of the chancery, 
by the Benedictines. In 783 he was attached to Pepin King of Italy. 
In 787 he married Bertha, daughter of Charlemagne, by whom he had 
Harmidus, and Nithard the historian. In 791 he retired to the monastery 
of Centuiensis, or St. Riquier. In 792 he conducted Felix to Rome. la 



292 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

The pope replied to the French sovereign's letter, 
but not to his book ;* and, quietly allowing the sub- 
ject to drop, left time and superstition to do their 
work, and lead the Franks from the toleration of 
images as useful memorials of faith, to their adora- 
tion as visible intercessors.! Not long after this 
period appeared the false decretals, on which so 
much of the assumed authority of the Roman church 
has been founded; and it is not at all improbable 
that the manufacture of these antedated decrees was 
first suggested to the policy of the Lateran by the 
bold tone of the council of Frankfort. Undoubtedly, 
to put down such synods, or rather to command 
them,! was the great object of those decretals ; and 
it appears certain that they were published between 
794 and 800. Thus it is probable that Adrian 
attempted, without answering the arguments of the 
Gallic scribes, to annihilate such assemblies as that 
which had prompted them to write. 

794 he carried Libri Carolini to Rome. Tn 796 he was sent to Pope 
Leo. In 800, he accompanied Charlemagne thither. And in 814 he 
died. — Dom Bouquet, preface, vol. v. 

*Epist. Hadriani Papee; Mabillon. 

t Gibbon. 

i See the elegant and perspicuous view taken of the history of these 
decretals by Mr. Hallam, Hist. Middle Ages, vol. iii. p. 235. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 293 



BOOK X. 

FROM THE CONSPIRACY OF PEPIN THE HUNCHBACK, TO THE 
FINAL SUBJUGATION OF THE SAXONS. 

FROM A. D. 792, TO A. D. 804. 

The Conspiracy of Pepin the Hunchback— His Birth and Character— Dis- 
covery of the Designs of the Conspirators— Their Trial and Condem- 
nation—Constitution of the General Assemblies of the Franks under 
Charlemagne, and their Functions— Counts of the Palace — Fresh 
Revolt of Saxony — France invaded by the Saracens— Defeat of Wil- 
helm, Duke of Thoulouse, and the Troops of the Spanish March— Con- 
duct of Charlemagne — Project for the Union of the Rhine and the 

Danube — The Attempt abandoned — Death of the Queen Fastrada 

Wars with Saxony — Expatriation of the Saxons — Object, Necessity, 
and Advantage of the Subjugation of Saxony. 

When Charlemagne first undertook to revenge the 
aggression which the Huns had committed in their 
irruptions into Bavaria, internal tranquillity and ex- 
ternal peace offered the fairest opportunity for the 
endeavour, and the clearest prospect of success. 
But before he could enter upon a second campaign, 
unexpected dangers assailed him on all sides. 

The first and the most imminent of these dangers, 
as it menaced his own person, as well as the secu- 
rity of his dominions, arose in a conspiracy formed 
by several of his nobles, who had again occasion to 
complain of the cruelty of the Queen Fastrada.* 
How that cruelty was exercised is not stated on this 
occasion, any more than on that of the conspiracy 
of Hartrad in 785 ; but it is easy to conceive many 
ways in which a harsh and imperious woman might 
bring the governmentf of her husband into hatred 

* Annales Eginhard ; Ann. Poet. Saxon. 

fThe quepns of France, under the second race, were in possession of 
an office in the household and kingdom of their husbands, which afforded 

Bb2 



294 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

with his people, though it is difficult to comprehend 
how such a monarch as Charlemagne permitted his 
power to be abused by any one to whom it was par- 
tially delegated. 

It is probable that the conspiracy was long in 
embryo, and that both real grievances and restless 
ambition added day by day to the numbers impli- 
cated. At length the discontent extended to a suffi- 
cient number of nobles to render success probable, 
and nothing further was required but a chief to give 
dignity to the enterprise, and to direct the efforts of 
the conspirators. That chief was unfortunately too 
soon found, and found in the family of the monarch 
himself. In very early years, as I have before men- 
tioned, Charlemagne had connected himself with 
a woman of inferior rank, named Himiltruda, but 
solely by the ties of illicit love.* By her he had 
one son, named Pepin, who grew up with a shrewd 
keen mind, an irritable temper, and great personal 
deformity. Whether from any doubts in regard to 
paternity, or from some other cause, cannot be told, 
but Charlemagne so little regarded this child as one 
of his family that he gave the same name which he 
bore to one of his legitimate sons. He educated 
him, however, and kept him at his court ; but it is 

no small opportunity, if indeed it did not offer great inducements, to 
oppress the nobility. We find that ihey were the chief treasurers of 
the palace ; and that the species of tribute, or impost, called dona annu- 
alia, was paid into the hands of their sub-treasurer. These dona annualia 
consisted not alone in money, but often in goods, food, wine, or horses ; 
and though the three last sorts of dues were exempted from the charge 
of the queens, the means of extortion, either on their own part, or that of 
their agents, were still considerable. — See Ducange, Dissertation iv. 

*That she was not his wife by any form whatever is sufficiently 
proved by all the annals of the time; though Monsieur Gaillard most 
pertinaciously insists that she was a wife, whose rank was inferior to 
the monarch's own, and cites a great many authorities to prove that 
Pepin was legitimate. All that he can advance, drawn from modem 
authorities, however, is as nothing in opposition to the writers of the 
time, who uniformly place Pepin in contrast with the children of Charle- 
magne ex legitimo matrimonio ; or those qui ex legitima geniti sunt, (a) 
See Note, p. 210. 

{a) Ann. Loiseliaui j Chroa. Moissiac. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 299 

easy to conceive that, in a bad and irritable mind, 
the grief which his inferior share of love and author- 
ity must have produced might easily be perverted 
to hatred towards his father, and malignant envy 
towards his more happy brothers. 

The conspirators who had planned the subversion 
of their sovereign's throne found it no difficult mat- 
ter to bring Pepin the Hunchback, as he was called, 
to abet their schemes ; and, as very frequently hap- 
pens, the additional criminality of the child who 
revolted against his father brought an aggravation 
of crime to all. To the plot for rising against their 
sovereign's authority was added the design of taking 
his life and that of all his legitimate sons.* What 
share of private benefit was to accrue to each of the 
inferior conspirators is not known ; but Pepin was 
to be raised to the throne of France, upon the dead 
bodies of his father and his brethren. 

Pepin feigned an illness in order to absent himself 
from the court, and the last arrangements were con- 
cluded for the proposed revolt and massacre ; but it 
so happened that a certain monk, named Fardulphus, 
who had been brought by Charlemagne from Lom- 
bardy,f shortly after the fall of Pavia, overheard by 
accident the unnatural resolution of the son, and 

* Eginhard, Ann. 792 ; Ann. Loiseliani, edit. Canisii ; Chron. Moissiac. 

t The account given by the Monk of St. Gall, is as follows : — " Some 
nobles, having assembled in the church of St. Peter, conspired together 
the death of the emperor. After their deliberations, Pepin, fearing that 
they might have been overheard from some secret place, gave orders that 
the church should be searched, to see whether some one might not be 
concealed in the corners of the building, or under the altars; when, 
behold, as they had feared, they found a clerk hidden beneath one of the 
altars. Seizing upon him, they compelled him to swear that he would 
not betray their counsel ; and he, fearing that he should lose his life, as 
they threatened, did not refuse to swear ; but no sooner were they gone 
than, little heeding his sacrilegious oath, he ran immediately to the palace." 
— Monachus Sangallensis, lib. ii. cap 18. Monsieur Gaillard imbodies 
this account, and, in the margin, attributes it to Eginhard's Annals, 
■which are quite guiltless of the anecdote, be it true or false. Pepin 
feigned an illness, to absent himself from his father. — Eginhard in Vit, 
Car. Magn. 



296 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

the bloody designs of the conspirators, and instantly 
hastened to give information of their purpose. 

His account was clear and distinct. The whole 
of the traitors were arrested and brought to trial ; 
their crime was fully proved ; and death was the 
sentence of all. The sword and the cord were the 
punishments inflicted on the conspirators in general. 
One only was spared, in whose case the ties of blood, 
and perhaps the belief that he had been made an 
instrument by more designing men, outweighed the 
cruel justice which demanded impartiality of inflic- 
tion. Pepin was condemned to eternal seclusion in 
a monastery ; and if we may credit the description 
of him given by the Monk of St. Gall, he carried to 
the cloister the same bitter* and disappointed ma- 
lignity which had led him to conspire against his 
father and his king. 

The sentence on Pepin and his accomplices was, 
of course, pronounced by a more impartial tribunal 
than the palace judgment-seat of the offended mon- 
arch. The general assembly! of the Frankish peo- 
ple was called! to take cognizance of the detected 
conspiracy ; and, for the second time, awarded the 
extreme penalty of the law for the crime of high- 
treason. 

Since the death of Charles Martel, a great change 
had taken place in the functions of this assembly, 
the constitution of which, during the first years of 
the French monarchy, probably varied with every 
thing else, according to the character and power of 
the sovereign and the circumstances of the times. § 

* Mon. Sangallens, lib. ii. cap. xix. 

t Ann. Loiseliani, 792. 

t As it has been asserted that these general assemblies of the nation 
"were never called except at the usual time of their meeting, the words of 
the AmiEils of Loisel, as published by Canisius, may be cited on the 
present occasion : — Rex Carolus cum cognovisset consilium Pipini, et 
consentaneorum suorum, coadjuvit adventum Francorum, et aliorum 
fidelium suorum, ad Reganesburg. Ubi universus populus Chris- 
tianus, &c. 

§ See Note IV. . 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 297 

Charles Martel, confident in his own superior vigour 
oi mind and body, despising the clergy, who were 
then in almost as degraded a state as the kings, and 
fearful of fixing his authority on the support of the 
nobles, which had often proved the most unstable 
of all foundations, dispensed as much as possible 
with all assemblies of the people ; and if he did not 
formally abolish them, suffered them to fall into 
desuetude.* Pepin, on the contrary, with the object 
of a crown before his eyes, made use of the ancient 
meetings of the nation to obtain his purpose ; but, 
jealous of the authority which he had only shared 
with a view to confirm, he circumscribed afterward 
the powers of the assemblies, and suffered them only 
to deliberate upon church discipline and general 
policy. Charlemagne, seated in the hearts of his 
people, — a nobler throne than the bucklers which 
raised his father to the acme of his fortune, — trusted 
the nation that trusted him ; and, striving to wield 
the mighty sceptre of his own genius solely for the 
benefit of his subjects, neither feared nor encoun- 
tered opposition to measures which were conceived 
in the spirit of disinterested beneficence, and framed 
with wisdom far superior to his age. 

Under his administration, the diets or general 
assemblies of the people, constituted as before of all 
the noblesf both secular and ecclesiastical, exer- 

* Boulainvilliers sur les Anciens Parlements de France, Epit, ii. 

t What were the precise qualifications for a seat in this assembly is 
by no means clear. Hincmar states that the elder nobles were these, 
propter consilium ordinandum, and the younger, idem consilium sus- 
cipiendum, which has been translated both by Boulainvilliers and Gail- 
lard, " the elder to deliberate, and the younger to consent." This would 
seem, however, not to be a correct interpretation ; for the power to con- 
sent would imply the power to dissent ; and it is probable that Hincmar, 
or rather Adhalardns, whom he cites, intended to imply, that the elder 
nobles were there to deliberate and the younger to receive the laws, and 
-.•ee them executed in their separate jurisdictions. The terms Optimates 
and Fideles are generally given to the persons called to these assem- 
blies ; but whether the title was assigned by any fixed law, or was left 
as vague in fact as it is in record, does not appear from any authority I 
have been able to meet with. 



298 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

cised immense power. They formed the great 
council of state, destined to advise with the mon- 
arch on all questions of peace or war, and, indeed, 
on the whole conduct of his empire. They* framed 
the laws, and enacted the imposts for the following 
year ; acted as the principal court of appeal for the 
whole people ; and possessed all the prerogatives of 
the highest judicial as well as legislative body. 

At these meetings, in general, the ambassadors 
from foreign powers were received ; and after the 
many conquests of Charlemagne, when the national 
assembly contained representatives from almost 
every continental country — from the shores of the 
Baltic to the British Channel, from beyond the Pyre- 
nees to the depths of Panonia — the splendour and 
singularity of the scene was such as to call forth 
many a glowing description from the pens of admir- 
ing contemporaries. At these assemblies, also, were 
presented those peculiar tributes or fines, which 
vassals were required to pay by the tenure of their 
lands, and which were called annua,f or dona annu- 
alia.% Here, too, were received the general dues 
collected throughout the kingdom, and the tribute 
by which conquered nations acknowledged their 
dependence, while they retained their separate form 
of government. 

In the first ages of the French monarchy, these 
assemblies were held usually only once in the year ; 
but in the beginning of the second race of kings 
(though at what period is not precisely known), two 
meetings took place annually. The first of these, 
however, still remained the most important,^ regu- 

* Ducange, Dissertation sur les Assemblies Solennelles ; Boulain- 
villiers sur les Anciens Parlements. 

t These gifts, or tributes, did not alone consist in money, but often 
also in produce, and very frequently in horses. 

{ Adhelard, apud Hincmar, de Ord. Palat. ; Ducange, Dissertations. 

$ Such is the statement of Hincmar, and all modern writers have fol 
lowed him ; but it is equally certain, that during the greater part of thia 
monarch's reign the annalists speak of the annual assembly in May as 
too one great meeting of the people. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 299 

lating every thing for the ensuing year that foresight 
could accomplish ; while the second took heed of 
all which by accident or from press of business had 
been neglected in the first. 

Such was the vast machine which Charlemagne 
employed, in the beneficent purpose of governing 
his people for their own advantage. But, notwith- 
standing the great power which he ascribed to these 
assemblies, we find that he himself, without their 
concurrence, often made war or peace; and added 
laws to those which they had enacted. Thus, while 
he called the nation, for its own benefit, to partici- 
pate in the exercise of the authority which his pre- 
decessors had assumed, he relinquished no particle 
of real power himself; and, indeed, the whole of his 
reign evinces, that if the monarch had confidence in 
his people, the people had confidence in their mon- 
arch ; and that, showing his reliance on the nation 
by consulting them whenever it was possible, he 
was despotic through the affections of his subjects. 

Nevertheless, although the diet served the king 
as a great and general council on all subjects of uni- 
versal interest, and in regard to all permanent insti- 
tutions, there were many sudden emergencies and 
minor details on which it could not be consulted ; 
and which, in after ages, have been generally sub- 
mitted by sovereigns to particular advisers, forming 
their privy council. 

On these occasions, Charlemagne either acted by 
his own judgment, or by the advice of some of the 
most prudent of his officers and attendants, who 
happened to be with him at the time. These he 
called to a private consultation, whether the ques- 
tion was warlike or political ; but there does not 
appear to have existed any permanent and regular 
council,* to assist the king in matters of general 
administration. 

* Several writers have supposed that such a privy council did exist, 
but I can discover no trace of it whatever. The king constantly called 



300 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

In regard to the dispensation of justice, however, 
a regular court was established in the royal palace, 
at which the king himself frequently presided. The 
principal* officers of this court were called counts 
of the palace, or, in other words, palace judges. Of 
their functions in general I have given a more de- 
tailed account before ; and shall only repeat, that to 
them was a general appeal from all other courts 
throughout the country, though the right of judging 
in the first instance also belonged to them, if occa- 
sion required such a proceeding. Under the first 
race of French monarchs, one of these counts suf- 
ficed, and the duties were either small or were neg- 
lected ; but in the reign of Charlemagne — who con- 
sidered promptitude of decision as an essential part 
of justice, — these officers were considerably multi- 
plied. So much was this the case, that continual 
access could be had to judgment; and, to use the 
words of Mably, the business of a courtier was then, 
not to offer flattery, but to administer the law. In 
aid of these counts were a number of counsellors, 
called Scabini Palatii ; and, with their assistance, the 
palatines held continual sittings in the royal resi- 
dence, where causes of every kind were argued and 
decided, so that redress could never be retarded, nor 
offences remain long unpunished.! 

To this court, however, such conspiracies as those 
of Tassilo, Hartrad, and Pepin were not submitted ; 
although it would seem that their reference to a 
general assembly of the nation depended more on 

the wisest and best or his nobles to consult with him ; as we find he did 
on his march against Beneventum. and in a thousand other instances. In 
like mannpr, the counts palatine and the provincial counts often called 
to assist them in the r judgment such nobles as might happen to be 
in thi ir vicinity ; but there does not appear to me the trace of any per- 
manent council, to advise the monarch on subjects of general adminis- 
tration. 

* Ducange, Dissertation xiv. 

t The counts palatine were often directed to the provinces, and many 
of the provincial counts seem also to have been counts palatine. See 
Ducange, Dissert, xiv. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 301 

the impartial feeling of the monarch than on the 
acknowledged incompetency of his palace court. It 
never appears that the national assembly was less 
severe in its judgment against traitors than the most 
bigoted advocates of authority could have been ; for, 
in all cases, we find that the indignant clamour with 
which the people doomed to death those who con- 
spired against their king showed at once how little 
the nation in genera] sympathized with the treason 
of individuals. Mercy, however, has always been 
one of the peculiar prerogatives of royalty; and 
Pepin,* as well as Tassilo, though condemned by his 
countrymen, was pardoned by the voice of Charle- 
magne himself, f 

The service of the Lombard priest, who, by the 
loyal promptitude of his information, had saved the 
state, was not forgotten by the gratitude of the mon- 
arch. A year passed away, indeed, before it received 
its reward ; but at the end of that time, the abbacy 
of St. Denis became vacant ; and Fardulphus, so 
lately a poor and unknown clerk, was raised to one 
of the richest dignities in the Gallic church. J 

To a mind like that of Charlemagne, the conspir- 
acy of his subjects and the treason of his son were 
in themselves profoundly painful ; but other griefs 
and disappointments now fell thick upon the mon- 
arch of the Franks ; and it seemed as if the whole 
labour of his life were to be done away at once, and 
to commence anew. Whether the secret negotia- 
tions of Pepin and his confederates had extended to 
Saxony or not cannot be discovered ; but scarcely 
had Charlemagne encountered the sad news of his 
son's treachery, and undergone the bitter task of 
judging his crime, ere he received intelligence that 

* Some have conceived, on the faith of a vague passage in one of the 
annalists, that Charlemagne had stripped himself of the power of show- 
ing mercy, and that the pardon of Tassilo and Pepin was pronounced by 
the assembly at the intercession of the monarch. This supposition, 
however, seems to be totally destitute of all reasonable foundation. 

t Ann. Loiseliani ; Chron. Moissiac. \ Eginhard. Ann. 

Cc 



302 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

the people on whom he had spent so much time, and 
labour, and blood to subdue and civilize, had sud- 
denly broken the oaths they had taken, driven forth 
the teachers he had sent them, destroyed the 
churches he had built, and spilt the blood of his 
officers wherever they could be found.* 

After the repeated defeats which they had re- 
ceived while singly opposed to the monarch of the 
Franks, the Saxons had not ventured upon so bold 
an insurrection as that which they now undertook, 
without having assured themselves of support. For 
this purpose, they had entered into a general league 
with all the pagan nations round about ; and having 
allied themselves with the Huns, whom they had 
been led to subdue, they no longer feared to renew 
the struggle, which they imagined disunion and want 
of allies had hitherto alone rendered ineffectual. 
The first symptom of their revolt was, as usual, a 
general return to paganism, and their first effort, ah 
attack upon the troops which Theoderic,f the cousin 
of Charlemagne, was leading back from the cam- 
paign against the Huns. J A great part of the forces 
under his command consisted of Saxons and Frisons, 
and were consequently enemies rather than fellow- 
soldiers. The rest, comprising several thousand 
Franks, taken by surprise and overpowered by num- 
bers, were cut to pieces to a man.§ 

Such was the first news which reached Charle- 
magne after the discovery of Pepin's conspiracy ; 
and scarcely had it been received when another 
unexpected attack was announced to him. 

* Ann. Loiseliani ; Ann. Tiliani ; Chron. Moissiac. 

t The account of Monsieur Gaillard is as follows:— "En 793 ceux 
d'entre eux (les Saxons) qui servoient dans son armee, se mufinerent.; 
et taillerent en pieces un detachment qui lui servoit d'escorie," &c 
The words of Eginhard,— " Nuntiatum est copias, quas Thedericus 
Comes, per Frisiam ducebat, in pago Rhiustri juxta Wisiram a Saxonibus 
esse intercept as atque deletas." 

% A. D. 792. Eginhard Ann. ; Ann. Poet. Saxon. The fact is placed 
in 793, but it is evident that it really took place in 792, as Theoderic was 
returning from Hungary. 

§ Near Rustringen, on the Weser (Eginhard). 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 303 

When the French monarch, as I have shown in 
the history of the campaign against the Avars, com- 
manded his son Pepin King of Italy to lead his 
armies into Hungary, that young prince was already 
embroiled in hostilities with Grimwald Duke of 
Beneventum, concerning the cities of Salernum, 
Acherontia, and Consia, which Grimwald, on receiv- 
ing the investiture of the duchy, had promised to 
dismantle, but which he still held fortified and garri- 
soned.* The young King of Italy, laying aside the 
affairs of his own government, instantly hastened, as 
before stated, to obey his father's commands, en- 
tered Hungary, defeated the Avars, and worked an 
important co-operation with the troops of Charle- 
magne. In return for this prompt and effectual 
obedience, Charlemagne, early in the winter, des- 
patched his son Louis, King of Aquitaine, with all 
the forces he could muster, to the aid of his brother 
in Italy. f The King of Aquitaine, in hastening to 
share the glory of the war against Grimwald, had 
probably left the frontiers of his province somewhat 
exposed, so that the Saracens of Spain judged it a 
convenient opportunity to avenge the aggression 
which had been made upon their territory, and to 
recover a part of the ground which had been lost. 

An active and warlike prince then possessed the 
principal Mohammedan power in Spain; and placing 
at the head of his army Abdelmelec, an officer^ of 
a mind similar to his own, he ordered him to break 
in upon the Spanish March of Charlemagne, on the 
side of Gerona. This was accordingly done ; and, 
with the usual rapidity of Saracen conquest, the 
Moors were at the gates of Narbonne before any 
force was ready to oppose them. The suburbs^ of 
that city were plundered and burnt, and the whole 

* Erchempertus, in Hist. Langobard Beneventi, cap. iv. ; Muratori, 
Script. Rer. Ital. vol. ii. part i. page 233. 
t Astronom. Anon, in Vit. Ludovic. Pii. 
t Rodericus, Hist. Arab. § Chron. Moissiao. 



304 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE* 

country round laid waste.* The invaders then again 
turned towards Carcasson, and were marching on in 
their desolating course, when they were encoun- 
tered by the army of Wilhelm Duke of Thoulouse, 
one of the counts of the March, who, with inferior 
forces, instantly resolved to give them battle. But 
in this instance the Franks met with an enemy 
equal to themselves in courage and skill, and superior 
in numbers. The forces of the counts of the March 
were totally defeated ; an immense number were 
slain ; Wilhelm himself only escaped by a rapid 
flight ; and the Saracens returned to Spain loaded 
with booty and captives. 

The breach of a great barrier he had taken im- 
mense pains to establish between Christian France 
and Mohammedan Spain — the total revolt of a country 
which he had spent half his life to subdue — the con- 
spiracy of his own son against his existence, — such 
were the misfortunes that, almost at once, assailed 
the monarch of the Franks. But a glorious record 
of the greatness of his mind has been preserved by 
one who was an eyewitness to his private life ; and 
it may be boldly stated, on the authority of Eginhard, 
that while Charlemagne never showed a sign of 
exultation in all his mighty successes, he never 
suffered a reverse to impair his confidence, or dis- 
turb his serenity. f 

Louis and Pepin, immediately on hearing of the 
conspiracy against the life of their father, hastened 
to his support and consolation ;% but finding the evil 
past, Pepin returned at once to Italy, with directions 
for carrying on the war against the Beneventines, 
while Louis, after a short stay, proceeded to Aqui- 
taine, in order to guard against any new irruption 
of the Saracens. No great operations took place in 
either of these wars for some time. That with the 

* Roderic declares that Narbonne was taken ; but this is incorrect. 

t Eginhard in Vit. Car. Magni. 

j Astronom. Anon, in Vit. Ludovic. Pii.. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 305 

Beneventines proceeded with some degree of ac- 
tivity ; but, while Pepin ravaged the territories of 
Grimwald, famine and pestilence wielded a more 
fatal sword in the heart of his own camp.* The 
Saracen invasion, on the other hand, was not re- 
newed ; and Charlemagne was left free to carry on 
the war against the Huns and the Saxons. 

His first effort was against the latter people ; for 
the Avars had suffered too much from their recent 
defeats to attempt a renewal of active hostilities for 
some time. Nevertheless, it may be necessary, 
before proceeding to conduct the Saxon war to its 
conclusion, to notice an undertaking of great magni- 
tude, the expediency of which had been shown by 
the former campaign against the Avars, and which 
a prospect of renewed hostilities hastened in en- 
deavour. In the course of the Hungarian war, 
Charlemagne had experienced so much benefit from 
the power of transporting his provisions, and a part 
of his army by water, that the great and magnificent 
scheme of establishing the same easy means of com- 
munication from one side of Europe to the other 
suggested itself to his mighty mind. 

It would be attributing too much to him, great as 
he was, to suppose that the first idea of the enter- 
prise was suggested by any other thing than the 
desire of facilitating his military operations : but, at 
the same time, anxious as he always evinced him- 
self for the revival of arts and sciences, the encour- 
agement of manufactures, and the diffusion of com- 
merce, it would be yielding too little credit to his 
greatness of mind to conceive that such motives 
did not mingle with the course of his design, hasten 
it in its progress, and strengthen it against the diffi- 
culties of execution. 

Whateverf might be the origin of his intention, 
and whatever collateral purposes might combine to 

* Erchempert. Hist. Langobard Beneventi, cap. vi. t A. D. 793. 

Cc2 



306 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

urge the attempt, it is certain that during his stay 
at Ratisbon* the project of joining the Danube and 
the Rhine occupied him deeply. The proximity of 
the two small rivers, the Rednitz and the Altmuth— 
the one of which, falling into the Mein near Bamberg, 
communicates with the Rhine, while the other joins 
the Danube near Kelheim, — seemed to offer great 
facility for its execution ; and the state of the Dan- 
ube in that day, very different from what it appears 
at present, held forth the greatest prospect of ad- 
vantage. In the spring, Charlemagne had himself 
laid out the plan of the proposed undertaking ; and 
ordered the works to be commenced ; but towards 
the autumn, he proceeded himself, by water, to the 
spot where they were in progress, ascending the 
stream of the Danubef and the Altmuth, from Rat- 
isbon to the proposed point of junction. The whole 
autumn was consumed by the monarch in superin- 
tending the execution of his design, and encouraging 
by his presence the host of workmen employed. As 
winter approached, he crossed the narrow space 
between the two streams ; and, embarking}: on the 
Rednitz, by sailing down its course into the Mein, 
which easily conducted him to Frankfort, at once 
proved the advantages that might be derived from 
the passage, if the junction of the rivers could be 
effected. To this, however, obstacles were op- 
posed, which were in that day insurmountable. 
Tremendous rains continued to fall during the 
autumn ; and acting upon a light, unstable soil, de- 
stroyed during the night nearly the whole fruit of the 
labours of the day. As the season advanced, dis- 
eases broke out, and difficulties multiplied ; and at 
length, after having carried the works two thousand 
paces in length, and three hundred in width, the at- 
tempt was abandoned. The conception, however, 
was worthy of Charlemagne ; and the vestiges of 

* Eginhard, Annales. f Annates Tiliani. 

J Ann.Mettensis, A. D. 793. 



HI3T0RY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 307 

that great endeavour may still be seen near the little 
village of Graben, a splendid monument of that mag- 
nificent mind which, in the midst of a barbarous age, 
devised so vast an enterprise. 

At Frankfort, to which Charlemagne proceeded 
after this ineffectual attempt, was held the general 
council, some of the proceedings of which I have 
already alluded to ; and there, also, died the queen 
Fastrada,* whose deeds had served to darken the 
splendour of her husband's character, and whose 
epitaph remains to show the emptiness of epitaphs 
in all ages. 

It may be now necessary, without following any 
further chronologically the war against the Saxons, 
to conduct the history of the struggle between them 
and Charlemagne to its conclusion ; which may be 
done in a few words. As soon as the council of 
Frankfort had terminated its sittings, the monarch 
of the Franks prepared to re-enter Saxony, and to 
repress the revolt which had taken place in that 
country. He divided his army into two parts, and, 
directing one under the command of his son Charles 
to pass by Cologne into the lower part of the Saxon 
territory, he himself led the other division, by the 
eastern provinces, towards a place called Sintfield, 
where a large Saxon force lay, with the intention 
of giving him battle. f A sudden terror, however, 
seized them at the aspect of the monarch, and 
instead of having recourse to arms, they immediately 
surrendered themselves prisoners at discretion, im- 
plored and received the clemency they had so often 
abused, and gave hostages for the faith which was 
soon again to be violated. 

Scarcely was the revolt suppressed than it once 
more broke out; and though no new chieftain sprang 
up to lead the Saxons, and to concentrate their 
efforts, they still waged a long and desolating war- 

* A. D. 794; Annates Tilia-ni; Ann. Ejrinhard. 
t Ann. Loiseliani ; Aim. TUiani; Ann. Eginhard. 



308 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

fare with the Franks, the history of which is but a 
catalogue of insurrections and repressions, without 
any incident of interest to render the detail either 
amusing or useful. 

Charlemagne still pursued his purpose with uncon* 
querable perseverance. If, from their proximity to 
France, their predatory barbarism, their utter faith- 
lessness, their obstinate courage, and their savage 
cunning, as well as from the want of all natural 
barriers against them, and the impossibility of rais- 
ing artificfal ones sufficient to repel their incursions, 
the Saxons had been found by Charlemagne, at the 
beginning of his reign, the most dangerous enemies 
of his nation, he now felt himself far more called 
upon to subdue them utterly, since they had learned 
from the Franks themselves the art of war. 

The conquest of the Saxons was not a matter of 
choice but of necessity, involving at once the exist- 
ence of the transrhenane provinces of France, the 
safety of all her northern allies, and her position 
among nations. To this war, therefore, Charlemagne 
in person devoted all his energies ; and at length, 
after having in vain attempted, by chastisement and 
by kindness, by force and by instruction, to tranquil- 
lize the whole of Saxony, he fell upon the extreme, 
but successful, measure,* of transporting an im- 
mense number from the most turbulent tribes of the 
Saxons to a great distance from their native country. f 
He accordingly enteredj Saxony early in the year 
804, and, collecting his whole forces at the source 
of the Lippe, he detached several large bodies, 
which swept both banks of the Elbe of their inhab- 
itants. Men, women, and children were alike car- 
ried away, and spread over the face of France ;§ and 

* He had already successfully practised the same measure, though 
on a smaller scale, in 795.— See Annates Francorum, apud Lambecium, 
et Chron. Moissiac 

t It is to be remarked particularly that only the most turbulent tribes 
were thus removed. 

t Annales Mettensis. § Chron. Brev. ; Chron. Moissiac 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 309 

a great number were also transferred to Brabant and 
various parts of Flanders, where, at the time of the 
compilation of the Chronicle of St. Detiis, their 
language and many of their customs were still pre- 
served.* 

Only one event took place during the course of 
these latter wars which is at all worthy of particu- 
lar remark,- — this was the first hostile collision be- 
tween the Normans and the Franks. Some offi- 
cers! of Charlemagne, accompanying his ambassador 
towards Sigifrid King of Denmark, were met and 
slain by the piratical Northmen, and, as usual with 
savage nations, one aggression was immediately 
followed by another. The Normans, almost as soon 
as they had perpetrated the murder of the French 
ambassador, marched in a large body to attack the 
nation of Abodrites,J the firmest allies which the 
crown of France possessed among all the northern 
nations. 

Thrasicon Duke of the Abodrites, however, with 
Eberwin, an officer of Charlemagne, instantly op- 
posed their progress with activity, vigour, and suc- 
cess. A severe conflict took place, in which many 
fell ; but the principal loss was on the side of the 
Normans, who were routed and dispersed with terri- 
ble slaughter. 

These events took place some time previous to 
the last severe measure by which Charlemagne ter- 
minated the Saxon war; but on the depopulation of 
the banks of the Elbe by the transportation of the 
Saxons, the good services of the Abodrites were 
not forgotten. The vacant country was bestowed 
udoii that friendly tribe ;§ and Charlemagne thus 
at once recompensed his most faithful allies, and 
p.aced a host of brave and warlike friends between 

* Chron. S Denis, lib. ii. cap. 3. t Eginhard Ann., A. D. 798. 

t One of the Abodrite dukes, or kings, had been slain in the year 795, 
it an engagement with the rebel Saxons. 
§ Annates Loiseliani. 



310 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

his own dominions and the savage countries of the 
north. 

It has* been asserted — though without even a 
show of reason to support the assertion — that the 
conquest of Saxony by Charlemagne called the fero- 
cious Normans upon the rest of Europe. Without 
applying to this idea the harsh term of absurd, a few 
words may suffice to show that the subjugation of 
the Saxons, while it removed one immense swarm 
of predatory barbarians, did not in the least facilitate 
the progress of those which followed ; but had, in 
fact, the most opposite effect. 

That the Normans never invaded the south by 
land is sufficiently well known. All their expedi- 
tions were naval, made from their own coasts, and 
not at all depending upon what nation possessed the 
German territory ; so that the Abodrites were a full 
and sufficient protection for the northern frontier 
of the Frankish dominions ;* and the subjection of 
the Saxons gave no facilities to the Normans in that 
direction. On the other hand, it is more than prob- 
able, that, had the Saxons not been subdued, the 
irruptions of the Normans would have been attended 
with far more terrible and desolating effects. The 
Saxons, under the government of the Frankish em- 
perors, — while in other circumstances they might 
have been the friends and allies of the Normans, — 
proved their first enemies, and the strongest barrier 
to their progress in the north of Europe. Scarcely 
forty years after the death of Charlemagne, the 
pirates of the north, landing on the coast of Saxony, 
suffered a most signal defeat from the Frisons and 
Saxons, whom the great monarch had conquered 
and civilized ;f and in 873 and 876, they were again 
and again overthrown in battle by the same Frisons. 
But had the Saxons not been so subdued and civil- 

* The barrier formed by the territories of the Abodrites was never 
violated during the reign of Charlemagne. 
| Schmidt, Hist, des Allemands, lib. iii. chap. iv. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 311 

ized, what would have been the probable result of 
their proximity to the Normans ? Those two na- 
tions were, in fact, but two succeeding 1 waves in 
the long tide of barbarian invasion from the north. 
They were the last and most feeble of those waves, 
it is true ; but had they been suffered to unite and 
roll on together, they might once more have over- 
whelmed Europe.* Nor was it unlikely that they 
should unite. The great Saxon confederation offered 
a model, their proximity a means, and conquest and 
plunder an object akin ■ to the habits and desires of 
both; while religion, manners, and national charac- 
ter afforded a bond of union, and a strong assimi- 
lating principle. f 

Charlemagne conquered the Saxons, as the invet- 
erate enemies of his nation ; he attempted to civilize 
them, for the purposes of peace and security ; and he 
strove to convert them, as a means of civilization. 
His objects, as a great king and a great patriot, were 
personal and national ; but he no less conferred a 
signal and lasting benefit upon Europe at large, by 
subduing even one of those barbarian nations which 
had more or less desolated every land, and revelled 
in the blood of every people. 

* The vague expression, " that the conquests of Saxony by Charle- 
magne tore away the veil which covered Europe from the Normans," if 
it mean any thing, must imply either that it first discovered Europe to 
that nation, or that it opened the way for their invasions. As we 
know historically that the Normans were well acquainted with the 
south of Europe long before the Prankish conquest of Saxony, I have 
applied my»self to refute the assertion, under its second interpretation, 
by attempting to prove, in a matter where all reasoning must be by 
analogy, that the probabilities tend to show, the Danish conquests would 
have been much more rapid and extensive if the Saxons had not been 
subdued. 

t That it was the natural tendency of all the northern nations to 
coalesce, for the purpose of conquest and plunder, is sufficiently evinced 
by the history of the Franks, the Saxons, and the Normans themselves. 



312 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 



BOOK XL 

FROM THE RENEWAL OF THE HUNGARIAN WAR, TO THE 
ELECTION OF LEO III. 

FROM A. D. 794 TO A. D. 796. . 

Internal Dissensions of the Huns— Treachery of Thudun— Herric Dake 
of Friuli ordered to invade Hungary— His Success — Pepin King of 
Italy invades Hungary— Captures the Fortress of the Ring— Death of 
Adrian I.— Election of Leo — He sends the Keys and Standard as an 
Act of Homage— Building of the Palace at Aix-la-Chapelle — The 
Palace College— Studies of Charlemagne— Progress of Literature in 
France— In Saxony. 

Having conducted the Saxon war to a conclusion, 
the history of Charlemagne may proceed with more 
regularity than it could possibly have done, embar- 
rassed wth continual repetitions of similar excur- 
sions and similar revolts. It is necessary, however, 
to retrograde in point of time, and to look back to the 
year 794, at which period the war already com- 
menced with the Huns, or Avars, had been arrested 
in its progress by the conspiracy of Pepin the 
Hunchback, and the insurrection of the Saxons.* 

While the monarch in person turned his arms 
against his more immediate enemies, and met the 
new danger the moment it appeared, internal dis- 
sensions,! probably arising in their late defeats, 
sprang up among the Huns, which greatly facili- 
tated the after efforts of the Franks, and soon af- 
forded that nation a favourable opportunity of pursu- 
ing the war. 

During a temporary halt on the banks of the Elbe 
in 795, Charlemagne received messengers from one 

* A. D. 793-4. t Ann. Tiliani ; Ann. Loiseliani. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 313 

of the chieftains of the Avars, named Thudun, ex- 
pressing a wish to embrace the Christian religion, 
and offering to hold his territory of the monarch of 
the Franks. Though Charlemagne was not yet pre- 
pared to lead his armies against Hungary in person, 
his immediate answer was evidently favourable to 
the Hunnish prince ; but the precise nature of the 
whole negotiation is not to be ascertained ; and an 
obscure, perhaps impenetrable, veil hangs over the 
civil dissensions which opened the way for the en- 
tire conquest of Panonia. It became evident to Char- 
lemagne, however, that internal strife reigned among 
his enemies ; and every motive induced him to seize 
the favourable occasion which now presented itself. 
Thudun is represented, by all accounts, as one of 
the most wealthy and powerful of the Hunnish 
chieftains. He willingly submitted himself to France. 
The rest of the nation were in actual contention 
among themselves ; and it was clear that the mo- 
ment had now arrived for pursuing the unconcluded 
war with every prospect of success. 

The subjugation of Saxony, as the enterprise most 
necessary to the security of his dominions, still oc- 
cupied the monarch of the Franks himself; and, in 
consequence, he intrusted the important task of 
seizing the opportunity,* and instantly renewing the 
war against the Huns, to Herric Duke of Friuli ; but, 
at the same time, he commanded Pepin King of 
Italy to hasten back from the south, and abandoning 
his strife with the Beneventines, to complete what 
Herric was about to commence. 

The Lombards and the Hunsf had been continu- 
ally at feud, and the accumulated animosity of many 
years, especially among the people of Friuli, soon 
procured for Herric, duke of that province, an im- 
mense and willing army. Supported by this force, 
he invaded Hungary, swept the greater part of the 

* Ann. Fuldenses; Ann. Mettensis; Ann. Loiseliani. 
t De Buat, Hist. Ancienne des Peuples de l'Europe. 

Dd 



*# 



314 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

country, — which, exhausted by civil wars, made little 
or no resistance,* — and returned, bringing the most 
immense booty which had ever been captured by 
any of Charlemagne's armaments. 

His steps were followed by Pepin King of Italy, 
who, penetrating still farther, broke through all the 
fortifications of the Huns, whose monarchf had been 
slain in the civil war, captured the royal fortress 
called the Ring, and carried off all that immense 
mass of wealth which the Avars had accumulated, 
both by plundering the nations round about,! and by 
wringing from the feeble empire of the East the 
hoarded riches of centuries of prosperity. All the 
spoil was brought into France, and laid at the feet 
of Charlemagne ;§ but that great monarch, after 
selecting some of the most splendid objects, as offer- 
ings to the church, distributed the rest of the enor- 
mous prize which had been thus captured among 
his nobles and soldiers, — so that the whole nation of 
the Franks "became rich, whereas they had been 
poor before. "H 

* Vit. S. Rudperti, Salisberg. Episcopi ; Eginhard Ann. 

t I have stated the death of the monarch of the Huns generally, be- 
cause, T confess, I do not understand the meaning of the expression 
which the annalists use in regard to him, nor do I think any one else 
has understood it. Two names are always mentioned together, in 
speaking of the chagan, — as "Chagan sive Jugurro, intestina clade 
addictis," in the Annales Tiliani, and the Annals of Loisel ; "Caganus 
et Jugurrus, Principes Hunorum," in Eginhard ; " Cagan et Jugurro 
Principibus Hunorum civili hello et intestina clade a suis occisis," in 
the Annales Fuldenses. Monsieur Guizot, on whose judgment, on any 
historical point, I would rely in preference to that of almost any other 
man, translates the passage in Eginhard, " Chagan et Igour, Princes des 
Huns;" but upon the word Igour he has this marginal note, "Nom 
national des Avares euxmemes." 

t Eginhard in Vit. Caroli. Magni. § Eginhard Annales. 

|| In regard to this war, Monsieur Gaillard is wrong in more than 
one material point. In the first place, he makes the two expeditions 
occur in two distinct years, whereas they took place in one, which is 
proved by the Life of St. Rupert, in Canisius, vol. vi., and by all the 
annalists. One fact, however, may be remarked here, which has caused 
a great deal of error in chronology, namely, that the annalists of those 
days began the year at different times, according to their different nations 
and habits, some commencing at Easter, of which the Annals of 
Eginhard yield an example; some on Christmas-day, of which those of 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 315 

At the same time, Thudun, who had betrayed his 
country, probably with the sole purpose of his own 
aggrandizement, came willingly, with a number of 
his dependants, to receive baptism, and constitute 
himself a vassal of the crown of France. Charle- 
magne treated him with distinction, and loaded him 
with presents,* both as an inducement to himself to 
keep the faith he had voluntarily embraced, and as 
an incitement to his countrymen to follow his ex- 
ample, as far as regarded religion. Nevertheless, it 
cannot be doubted that the monarch of the Franks, 
though he might look upon the baptism of Thudun 
as an act of conviction, not of apostacy, could not 
regard his treason to his country in the same light, 
and, while he applauded the convert, must have 
despised the traitor. 

For the purpose of affording religious instruction 
to the conquered people,! Arnon Bishop of Saltz- 
burg was commanded to preach the gospel in Pa- 
nonia ; and both captives and populace were treated 
with every kind of lenity, in order that the conse- 
quences of this warfare — so different from those 
they were themselves accustomed to inflict — might 
not disgust the Avars with the religion of their con- 
querors. 

That portion of the spoil taken by the Duke of 
Friuli from the Huns, which was destined by Charle- 
magne for the Church of Rome, was carried to Italy 
by Angelbert, Abbot of St. Richarius, or Centulensis, 
who was also charged to receive the oath of fidelity 
from the Roman people, and from Leo III., on his 
elevation to the chair of St. Peter. On Christmas- 
day, A. D. 795, Adrian, the tried and affectionate 
friend of the French monarch, had closed a long and 

St. Fulda afford an instance. In the next place, Monsieur Gaillard 
here confounds the Avars entirely with the ancient Huns (torn. i. p. 380), 
and makes the warriors of Charlemagne divide all that Attila had torn 
from both the East and West, — probably an accidental oversight, but still 
it is one which greatly perverts historical fact. 
* Ann. Poet. Saxon. t Vit. S. Ruperti. 



316 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

active papacy, in the course of which, though he 
manifested several faults, he had exhibited many 
noble virtues and splendid talents. Though he did 
not possess the grand dignity of Gregory the Great, 
neither did he possess many of the petty absurdities 
which checkered the character of that extraor- 
dinary man. He was firm and courageous, keen and 
clear-sighted, humane, charitable, and consistent. 
He saw deeply into the characters of men, took 
extended and sagacious views, both in regard to the 
present and the future ; and, had not a monastic edu- 
cation narrowed his mind, and the petty individuality 
of ecclesiastical policy contracted his feelings, it is 
probable that, free from the selfishness apparent in 
some of his negotiations, and the cunning contri- 
vances which occasionally disgraced his pontificate, 
he would have been one of the greatest men of that 
or any other age. 

When the news of the death of Adrian was con- 
veyed to the ears of Charlemagne, the monarch 
wept. He afterward composed the epitaph of his 
early friend, which was sent to Rome, engraven on 
marble in letters of gold ; but the noblest epitaph 
on the dead prelate was to be found in the tears of 
the hero.* 



* One of the most tangible methods of evincing grief for the loss of a 
friend was, in those days, to institute prayers for his salvation ; and this 
Charlemagne not only performed. in his own dominions, but we find that 
he sent presents to all the prelates of England, begging them to offer 
masses for the soul of the deceased pontiff.(a) He also wrote to Offa 
King of Mercia, who at that time united under his dominion twenty-three 
English counties, to urge the same request, sending him a belt, a Hun- 
garian sword, and two silken cloaks. At the same time, he used every 
effort to encourage the commerce between the two countries, and assured 
the Anglo-Saxon king(b) that all English travellers passing through his 
country should have security and protection. Another letter is recorded 
from Charlemagne, not directly to Offa himself, but to Athilard Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, wherein the Frankish monarch intercedes (or 
certain refugees who had fled to his court from some unjust accusation. 
The chief of these exiles was dead ; and Charlemagne says that he had 
received him, not from any enmity towards Offa, but in the hope of pro- 
Co) Baluz. ConciL (&) Hist. Litter, de France, torn. iv. p. 388. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 31*7 

The election of a new pope had not in that day 
acquired the extreme importance which it received 
in after years, when the progressive encroachments 
of individual pontiffs had raised the tiara above both 
the sceptre and the sword. It was a matter of suffi- 
cient consequence, however, to cause infinite in- 
trigue and faction in Rome itself. On the death of 
Adrian, his nephews, who had been elevated by him 
to the highest ecclesiastical dignities of the Roman 
church, and who, beyond doubt, expected to obtain 
the apostolic seat in succession, were nevertheless 
excluded from the object of their ambition, and Leo,* 
a Roman priest, the son of Arnulphus, was raised to 
the pontifical throne. No tumult, however, took 
place at the time : the wrath which the disappointed 
competitors felt profoundly was covered with the 
specious mask of friendship ; and the new pope, 
secure in possession, instantly sent messengers to 
the great defender of the Roman see, to announce 
his election, and to do those acts of homage towards 
the patrician which were usual in feudal times on 
any new inheritor entering upon the feoff of his 
predecessor. The forms of homage were ever va- 
rious, according to the different terms of investiture, 
the different countries in which the territory lay, 
and the different circumstances under which the 
feoff was granted. In the present instance, as the 
mark of his subjection, the pope sent the keys of the 
tomb of St. Peter, and the standard of the city of 



ducing a reconciliation between that king and his vassal. It has been 
well observed, that this letter is a specimen of delicacy of feeling and 
humanity worthy of the most civilized age. He does not address the 
Anglo-Saxon monarch directly, but through a minister of charity and 
peace; he calls him, however, by the kindly name of his brother, and 
he desire* the bishop, in case of his request being refused, to send the 
exiles back to him uninjured, adding, "It is better to travel than to 
perish ; it is better to live in exile than to die at home." I am indebted 
for the observations on this letter, and for the noiice of the letter itself, 
which had escaped rny attention, to Mr. Sharon Turner's History of the 
Anglo-Saxons. 
* Muratori, Rer. Script. Ital. vol. ii. part ii. p. 282. 

Dd2 



§18 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

Rome ;* but, at the same time, he begged the mon- 
arch to despatch some great man to Italy, who might, 
in his name, receive the oath of fidelity from the 
Roman people. f 

We must pause for a moment here to consider 
this transaction, as it has been a matter of great dif- 
ficulty and controversy among critics and histo- 
rians. One party appeals to the positive testimony 
of Anastasius, that certain territories were bestowed 
upon the Church of Rome, and to the corroborative 
allusions of the Codex Carolinus ; while the other 
relies on the acts of sovereignty exercised by Charle- 
magne in those very territories, and the acts of sub- 
mission constantly performed by the pope. The 
one party declares that the gift was absolute, the 
other maintains that there was no gift at all; and 
those ambitious of the character of candour and 
moderation! assume, that Charlemagne gave, in a 
moment of liberality, what he chose to resume upon 
reflection. At the same time, both sides pervert the 
stubborn facts which are opposed, more or less, to 
every one of the hypotheses which they uphold, and 
either corrupt the texts of the historians,^ mistrans- 
late the passages which they dare not admit, or 
violate all the rules of grammar, to give a forced 
interpretation to the most simple statement. || 

* Eginhard Annales, ad. ann. 796. 

t Charlemagne, in his first letter to the new pope on his election, 
says, " Gavisi sumus, seu in electionis unanimitate, seu in humilitatis 
nostra? obedientia, et in promissionis ad nos fidelitate " — D. Bouquet, 
vol. v. p. 625. 

t Gibbon. § See Pagi, Bellarmine, Le Blanc, <fcc. 

|| From a letter written" by Charlemagne, and published among those 
of A!cuin,(a) Pagi seems to infer that the monarch demanded of Leo, by 
Angelbert, his confirmation of the patriciate ; and that, as a sign of that 
confirmation, Leo sent the banner of the exarch, and desired some one to 
receive the oath of the Roman people. This, however, could not be the 
case ; for it is clearly established by all the annals, that the pope 
despatched the banner and the keys immediately on his elevation, to 
announce the fact to Charlemagne; and that the patriciate did at this 
time imply absolute sovereignty is proved by Le Blanc, in his Disserta- 
tion Historique, chap. iv. p. 21 . ' Also, it is clear that this letter of Charle- 
(a) D. Bouquet, vol. v. p. 625. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 319 

I have adopted, in the third book of this history, 
the opinion that the territories were granted to the 
Church of Rome, but that they were still held by 
feudal tenure from Charlemagne, in the same man- 
ner that other territories were held by his various 
vassals.* My strongest reason for admitting this 
idea at first was, because it reconciled all the ap- 
parent difficulties which were opposed to every other 
hypothesis ; and each event which I have since had 
occasion to notice confirms my belief that the mon- 
arch of the Franks, always reserving to himself the 
absolute sovereignty, had bestowed upon the popes 
and their successors the exarchate, the Pentapolis, 
and the duchy of Rome merely as feoffs. Thus the 
donation stated by Anastasius, and alluded to by the 
Codex Carolinus, is admitted, and yet the acts of 
sovereignty exercised by Charlemagne explained, 
while the despatch of the keys and the banner 
appears as an ordinary act of homage from the new 
vassal to his sovereign. Neither does the fact of 
the Roman people having sworn allegiance person- 
ally to Charlemagne at all prove that the monarch 
had made no donation, as some writers have ima- 
gined,! nor at ^1 militate against the opinion that 
the provinces specified were granted as feudal lands. 
On the contrary, we find that it was the common cus- 
tom, in the cases of high feoffs, not only for the great 
vassal himself, but for all his principal nobles also, 
to take an oath of fidelity to the general sovereign, 



magne, instead of being one which could be answered by the keys and 
the standard, was in answer to that of the pope which accompanied 
those insignia; for the very Angelbert mentioned in the letter is the same 
person who, Eginharti declares, was sent lo Rome to receive the oath of 
the Roman people ; and Charlemagne himself refers to the letters which 
he had received from the pope. 

Many more such misstatements are )>ointed out and examined by Le 
Blanc, who is very nearly as prejudiced as any of those he criticises. 

* I arn told that this opinion has been before promulgated by some 
other writer. I arn happy to hear it, as the fact gives some degree of 
strength to my conclusions. 

t See Le Blanc, Dissertation, Hist. chap. iv. 



320 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

— an instance of which may be found in the homage 
of Tassilo Duke of Bavaria, mentioned in the former 
part of this work. 

We must now turn for a moment to the internal 
occupations of the French monarch. With Adrian, 
the late pope, Charlemagne had lived in that con- 
stant reciprocation of friendly offices which we 
seldom find between men of so elevated a station ; 
and it has been supposed that the presents selected 
from the spoil of the Huns, though afterward con- 
veyed by the monarch's command to Leo, were 
originally reserved for his predecessor. Indeed, a 
gift had been conferred by the prelate shortly before 
his death, which Charlemagne was not likely to 
leave long unrequited. This consisted of the beau- 
tiful marbles and mosaics of the ancient palace of 
Ravenna,* which had been sent to France by the 
pontiff, for the purpose of ornamenting the superb 
buildings then about to be raised at Aix-la-Chapelle. 
These specimens were, in every respect, invaluable ; 
for although, as I have before shown, architecture, 
as a science, was by no means unknown in France at 
that time, and though the kind of mixed Roman, 
which has been sometimes denominated Lombard, 
was then making great progress in that country, yet 
no such works could be produced in any branch of 
art as those which were still to be seen at Rome 
and Ravenna, accomplished when the united powers 
of the East and the West had brought knowledge 
and skill to their highest perfection. 

At Aix-la-Chapelle, situated nearly in the centre 
of his vast dominions, and in a salubrious climate, 
Charlemagne had fixed upon a spot for building a 
palace, in the neighbourhood of some natural warm- 
baths, — a Roman luxury, in which the Frankish 
monarch particularly delighted. All that the great 
conception of Charlemagne could devise, and the art 

* Codex Carolinus, Epist. lxvii. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 321 

of the age could execute, was done to render this 
structure and the church attached to it worthy of 
their magnificent founder. But no account cap be 
given ;* for nothing has come down to the present 
age which can justify any thing like detailed descrip- 
tion. Nevertheless, a number of circumstances in 
regard to this building are occasionally mentioned 
in the historians of the time, that convey an idea 
of vastness and splendour which probably might 
have been lost had minute examination been possi- 
ble. Immense hallsf — magnificent galleries — a col- 
lege — a library — baths where a hundred persons 
could swim at large — a theatre and a cathedral — a 
profuse display of the finest marble — gates and doors 
of wrought brass — columns from Rome, and pave- 
ments from Ravenna, — such we know to have been 
some of the many things which that great palace dis- 
played. 

Workmen were gathered together from every part 
of Europe ; and though but small reliance can be 
placed upon the anecdotes related by the Monk of 
St. Gall, it is evident, from every account, that the 
building must have been the most magnificent archi- 
tectural effort which Europe had beheld since the 
days of the splendour of ancient Rome. 

Besides the palace itself, we find that an immense 
number of buildings were constructed around it, for 
the accommodation of every one in any way con- 
nected with the court ; and adjoining were particu- 
lar halls, open at all times, and in which all classes 
and conditions might find a refuge from the cold of 
night, or from the wintry storm. J 

* In all probability, the crypt of the church of Aix-la-Chapelle, as it 
stands at present, is all that remains of the original edifice. 

t Eginhard. in Vit. Car. Magni ; Monachus Sangallens ; Chron. 
Moissiac ; Chron. Sigiberti ; Poema de Car. Mag. et Leonis Papas ad 
eundem ad ventu. 

{ Stoves were furnished also to warm those who might take refuge in 
these general chambers; and the Monk of St. Gall asserts that theapart- 
soaents of Charlemagne were so constructed that he could seo every thing 



322 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

Within the walls was that famous domestic col- 
lege on the maintenance, extension, and direction 
of which Charlemagne, amid all the multiplicity of 
his occupations, found means to bestow so much of 
his time and attention. But every trace of his ac- 
tions tends to prove that his first and greatest object 
— to which even conquest was secondary, if not 
subservient — was to civilize his dominions, and to 
raise mankind in general from that state of dark 
ignorance into which barbarian invasion had cast 
the world. The great primary step which he had 
taken had been the restoration of general order, and 
the re-establishment of individual security by a 
variety of laws — perhaps not the best that could be 
framed upon abstract principles, but beyond doubt 
the best which could be adapted to the age and 
society in which he lived. By his care the disorders 
which had pervaded France, even under his father's 
reign, were speedily done away ;* and security 
opened the way for literature and art. These we 
have seen encouraged by the monarch in their ad- 
vance ; and by this time his efforts were beginning 
to bear fruit. The schools which he had established 
in every different province and cure throughout his 
dominions had now made great progress. f Alcuin 
had returned from England to fix his perpetual abode 
in France. St. Benedict,! the younger, had already 
distinguished the school established by his monas- 
tery, had gathered together a considerable library, 
and had rendered his success a matter of emulation. 

which took place in the building round about, — an impossible folly, im- 
agined by the small cunning of a monk. 

* The irregularities cited by Schmidt, and aggravated by Gibbon, who 
reposes on Schmidt's authority, are worthy of some notice, from the 
reputation of the names by which they have been reported. I have 
Spoken of the passage of Schmidt, and made some observations upon it, 
in a preceding note, and I think it will be seen, by any one who reads 
the extant records, that the internal police of the reign of Charlemagne 
offers few parallels of regularity, even in modern history. 

t Histoire Litteraire de France, vol. iv. p. 8. % A. D. 793. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 323 

The college of Orleans,* under the care of Theo- 
dulphus, bishop of that city, had by this time acquired 
a name in Europe ; and while science had become 
an object of ambition throughout the whole of 
France, the means of acquiring it were multiplied in 
every province. 

So much, indeed, had been the progress made by 
the French people since the commencement of the 
reign of Charlemagne, that, whereas at his acces- 
sion letters were unknown, and all was darkness, at 
the present period we find innumerable efforts in 
literature, comprising both poetry and prose, which, 
though rude and dusty with ages of forgetfulness, 
still show the human mind struggling up like a Titan 
from the mountains which had been thrown upon its 
head. 

During the first ten or fifteen years after its estab- 
lishment, the college of the palace had probably 
followed the court during its frequent migrations, 
notwithstanding the number of members, and the 
difficulty of transporting the library, which soon be- 
came considerable. Many circumstances, however, 
seem to show, that after the construction of the great 
palace at Aix-la-Chapelle, it became fixed in that 
place. The library, we know, was there concen- 
trated ; and several of the books thus collected, 
such as the Codex Carolinus, &c, have come down 
through a long line of emperors to the present day. 
Indeed, a great part of the most valuable literature 
of former ages was preserved alone by the efforts 
of the French monarch for the revival of science ; 
and the link of connexion between ancient and mod- 
ern civilization owes its existence as much to the 
endeavours of Charlemagne as even to the papal 
preservation of antique Rome. 

In speaking of the domestic college thus estab- 
lished by the Frankish king, I must not omit to 

* A. D. 794. 



324 - HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

notice a curious trait, of even childish levity, which 
mingled with some of his grandest efforts for the 
improvement of his people. Among a number of 
very doubtful anecdotes concerning this institution, 
we find one fact mentioned of which we have incon- 
testable proof in the letters of the monarch himself, 
and which may well go to swell the long catalogue 
of the puerilities of philosophers, and follies of the 
wise. This was the adoption of emblematical names 
by all the persons connected with the palace college ; 
so that we find Alcuin himself writing to Charle- 
magne as David, and the monarch of the Franks 
addressing Angelbert,* his chancellor, as Homer. 

Notwithstanding this little absurdity which may be 
conceded to the darkness of the age, Charlemagne 
gave an example to his subjects of that ardent and 
indefatigable zeal in the pursuit of knowledge which 
alone could lead others on the path along which he 
sought to guide them. Even the most dry and 
fatiguing parts of studies, which now form the very 
rudiments of education, he went through when he 
had arrived at manhood. Under Peter of Pisa, 
whom he brought with him into France after the 
conquest of Lombardy, he studied grammar ; and 
Alcuin, at a still later period, became his teacher of 
rhetoric, dialectics, and astronomy ;f in the latter of 
which sciences the scholar soon excelled his master. 
Gifted naturally with great eloquence, Charlemagne 
assiduously cultivated a knowledge of various lan- 
guages ; spoke Latin with the same facility as his 
own tongue ; and acquired a thorough acquaintance 
with Greek, though the soft sounds of that musical 
language were difficult of pronunciation to the lips 
of the Frankish king. At the same time, the national 
dialect of the Franks was not neglected by the mon- 
arch. Licentious and irregular, it was at once cor- 



* Epist. Alcuini Abbat ; Poem, de Car. Magn. et Leon. Pap. 
t Eginhard in Vit. Car. Magn, cap. xxv„ 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 325 

nipt and barren ; and Charlemagne applied himself 
earnestly both to purify and enrich it. The names 
of the months and of the winds, which had formerly 
comprised both Latin and barbarian terms, he 
changed to others of a Teutonic origin. A gram- 
mar of the language was commenced under his in- 
spection ; and he ordered the old and barbarous 
poems,* which sang the wars and actions of the 
ancient kings, and which had previously been only 
transmitted by tradition, to be preserved in registers 
for the benefit of posterity. 

About this time, also, the mode of writing under- 
went a change. The rude characters employed 
under the Merovingian race were disused, and the 
small Roman letters were introduced. As the spirit 
of improvement proceeded, new alterations were 
sought ; and some years afterward, to write in the 
large Roman capitals became the mode of the day, 
the initial letter of each paragraph being always 
highly ornamented, and sometimes painted, many 
specimens of which have come down to the present 
time.f Though at an advanced^ period of life when 

* Eginhard. in Vit. Car. Magn. cap. xxv. 

t Histoire Litteraire de France, Tab. Chronologique, vol. iv. 

tl do not kno\V whether it be worth while to attempt to refute the 
opinion which hap been founded on an erroneous passage in Eginhard 
that Charlemagne could not write. Eginhard understood, as Gibbon 
says, the court and the world, and the Latin language, it is true ; but, 
nevertheless, we may much more rationally believe that the secretary 
made use of a vague expression, than suppose that he wished to imply, 
in one sentence, the manifest contradiction of Charlemagne being in the 
habit of going- through all the abstruse calculations of astronomy, in an 
age when those calculations were most complicated, without being able 
to write. The whole of Charlemagne's life renders the supposition ab- 
surd. He studied under Alcuin, whose first rule was to teach the' most 
eorrect orthography in writing.(n) We know that he subscribed many 
deeds, though his signature was abbreviated, to render it as rapid as pos- 
sible. Eginhard himself states, that the monarch wrote the history of 
the ancient kings in verse : and Lambecius, one of the highest antiquarian 
authorities, declares that the imperial library still contains a manuscript 
corn 'ted by the hand of Charlemagne himself. See Lambecius, Com- 
ment, de Biblioth. Caesar. Vindobonens ; Hist. Lit. de France, par lea 
Benedicts, vol. iv. p. 370. 

(or) Alcuin, Epist. 15. 

Ee 



326 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

this method of writing first began to prevail, Charle- 
magne endeavoured to learn it, and even caused 
models of the letters to be laid by his pillow, that 
during the waking moments of the night he might 
practise the art which he sought to acquire. 

Nor did the monarch remain satisfied with leading 
the way himself on the path of knowledge which he 
desired the whole nation to follow ; nor* content 
himself with bestowing on his childrenf a careful 
and judicious education, both mental and corporeal ; 
but, by constantly proposing in writing questions 
for solution, addressed to the various prelates and 
teachers of his realm, he forced them to exercise 
their talents and cultivate their minds, under the 
severe penalty of shame and ridicule. On the other 
hand, literary merit was never without its reward, 
for though, as far as we can discover, Charlemagne, 
wise in his generosity, seldom if ever gave more 
than one profitable charge at once to one man, yet 
those who distinguished themselves by talent and 
exertion were sure to meet with honour, distinc- 
tion, and competence. 

Sometimes the nature of these recompenses must 
have rendered the conferring of them a painful duty 
on the part of the monarch, as it inevitably separated 
him from many of his best loved friends. Thus, in 
the year 796, to which I have now conducted the 
history of Charlemagne, his nomination of Alcuin to 

' * There is to be found in Voltaire a gross and malicious mistranslation 
of Eginhard, to which Gibbon has given an unscrupulous and kindly wel 
come. Had he not done so, I should not have thought it necessary even 
to notice so impudent and beastly a falsehood. Eginhard states that his 
daughters were " ab eo plurimum diligerentuT? but never insinuates for 
a moment that, they were loved by their father with " too fond an affee 
tion." He states boldly the errors of the daughter of Charlemagne^ but 
states, with equal force, the pain which those errors inflicted on the men 
arch. The historian who wilfully or carelessly traduces a great man is 
a robber of the worst description. He robs the dead of their only prop- 
erty—fair fame ; and he robs the living of their best legacy from the 
past — a great example. . 

t Eginhard. in Vit. Car. Mag. ; Astronom. Anon, in Vit. Ludovic. Fu 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 327 

the abbacy of St. Martin,* of Tours, deprived him 
of that society in which he had been long accus- 
tomed to delight. Nevertheless, some compensation 
must have been derived by the monarch in this 
instance, from perceiving that the sacrifice he had 
made produced great benefit of that particular kind 
which he was most anxious to effect. 

At Tours iUcuin immediately established a school, 
which soon became the most famous of all those 
that had lately arisen in France. From it, as from 
a parent, sprang a multitude of others ;f and know- 
ledge was progressively diffused over a large tract 
of country, which had previously been destitute of 
any sufficient means of instruction. 

I have before pointed out, that France alone was 
not the sole object of the monarch's care in these 
respects ; and while speaking on this subject, I may 
be permitted to cast my view a little farther forward 
than the precise epoch to which the military and 
political events of this reign have been conducted. 
In those countries which Charlemagne had added 
to his native dominions religion and civilization 
advanced hand in hand. We have seen, through 
the whole of his life, that the mitigation of the fero- 
cious character of the Saxons was one of the prin- 
cipal objects of his endeavour; and never, either 
during the fresh revolts which broke out after the 
Hungarian campaign, or when the whole of Saxony 
was at length totally subdued, did Charlemagne 
relax for a moment in his efforts to soften their 
barbarism, and court them to a better state. Schools 
of various kinds were established throughout Sax- 
ony ;| and though the particular institutions of many 
of these are now lost, yet we find the instance of 
one perpetually endowed by the French monarch at 
Osnaburg in Westphalia, where Greek and Latin 



* Vit. Alcuini Abbat. cap. vi. 

f Hint. Lit. de France, vol. iv. p. 14. f A. D. 804. 



328 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

were to be taught to all applicants. Such were the 
means he employed to raise his new territories from 
a state of barbarism; and the immense progress 
which we find the Saxons had made within fifty 
years after their subjugation justifies the policy of 
the monarch, and evinces the wisdom with which 
his endeavours were conducted. Other means 
however, were at the same time employed, t{ 
change the rich and extensive plains of German} 
from a savage wilderness into a polished and culti 
vated land. Cities and towns* rose up on' the path, 
of Charlemagne, and a civilized population became 
generally mingled with the original denizens of the 
country. 

Some of these cities still remain, and some have 
crumbled away beneath the decaying footsteps of 
time ; but while France herself, soon after the death 
of Charlemagne, relapsed into anarchy and confu- 
sion, and sank rapidly down from the height to 
which he had raised her, the change which the 
great monarch had wrought in Saxony was never 
done away; and Germany has yet to bless. him, 
as the guide which first led her from darkness unto 
light. 

* Chran. Moissiac. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 329 



BOOK XII. 

FROM THE RENEWAL OF HOSTILITIES IN THE SPANISH 
MARCH, TO THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN LUIDGARDE. 

FROM A. D. 797 TO A. D. 800. 

Piratical Expeditions from Spain and Barbary— Chastised by Charle- 
magne — Renewal of the War in Spain — Zatun does Homage for Barce- 
lona—Louis carries on the War against the Saracens — Powerful 
Diversion effected in favour of the Gothic Christians — Victories of 
Alphonso the Chaste — Warfare with the Huns— Revolt of Thudun — 
Gerold Count of the Marches of Bavaria, and Herric Duke of Friuli, 
slain — Hungary subdued — Embassies to the Court of Charlemagne — 
From Constantine VI. to treat for Peace — From Irene, announcing the 
Deposition and Blinding of Constantine — From Haroun al Raschid — 
Rise of his Friendship with Charlemagne — His Presents to the Mon- 
arch of the Franks— Sends him the Keys of Jerusalem— Norman Pira- 
cies—Measures to repel them from the Coasts of France and Germany 
— Death of Luidgarde. 

The successful irruption on the part of the Sara- 
cens,* mentioned in another place, had not only 
served the temporary purpose of carrying terror and 
destruction into the heart of the ancient Septimania, 
but had also procured more solid advantages to the 
Mohammedan princes of Spain,by shaking the Spanish 
March, or defensible frontier which Charlemagne 
had pushed forward far within the limits of the 
original conquests of the Moors. Barcelona, Huesca, 
and the entire seashore of Catalonia had now fallen 
into their hands ; and it would seem that this line 
of coastf became the great place of refuge for all 
those predatory armaments with which the Saracens 
now swept the whole extent of the Mediterranean. 
Sicily, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands,! and even the 
coasts of Italy were all in turn made the subject of 

* A. D. 793. t Eginhard Annales, ann. 807. 

tAnn. Loiseliani; 799; Arm. Fuldenses ; Chjon. Adonis. . 

Ee2 



830 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

attack ; and Majorca and Minorca remained for some 
time in the hands of the Moors. 

Charlemagne, as the greatest and most zealous 
of the Christian monarchs at that period in Europe, 
was applied to by the sufferers ; and he was never 
appealed to in vain. Notwithstanding a fresh insur- 
rection in Brittany, and the war which he was then 
still waging with the Saxons, the monarch of the 
Franks made the most immense exertions to aid his 
Christian brethren in their struggles against the 
aggressions of the infidel. The Bretons* were 
speedily subdued; and while he himself remained 
to. direct the operations of his army in Saxony, he 
despatched a strong force to expel the Moors from the 
Balearic Isles, — an expedition which was crowned 
with the most triumphant success. 

At the same time, domestic dissensions among the 
Arab princes of Spain encouraged him to renew the 
war upon the Cataloman frontier ; and the desire of 
assisting the Gothic Christians of the Asturias in 
their struggle against the Saracens gave vigour to 
his determination, and promptitude to his endeav- 
ours. Issem, the son of Abderaman, the Moavite, 
had expelled his brother Abdallahf from the Moorish 
territories in Spain, and had driven him into exile in 
Africa. A number of the Saracens, however, of 
Catalonia and Arragon, retained their affection for 
the exiled prince ; and either from private ambition 
or from attachment to Abdallah, Zatun,J who, on the 
capture of Barcelona from the Franks,^ had been 
named governor of that city, sought the French 
sovereign at Aix-la-Chapelle, and surrendered the 
territory which he had been appointed to defend. 

Although this act of treachery was not committed 
without an express stipulation that the territories 
thus yielded were still to be intrusted to Zatun, yet, 
according to the Frankish accounts, his homage to 

* Ann. Loiseliani. t Ann. Eginhard. 

JAnn.Tiliani, §A. D. 797. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 331 

Charlemagne was complete ; and the opportunity 
now afforded of diverting a part of the Moorish 
forces from the war with the Spanish Christians, 
and of regaining the eastern portion of the Spanish 
March, was not lost upon the monarch of the Franks. 

His son Louis, King of Aquitaine, then in his 
twentieth year, — a period of existence when the 
springs of enterprise and zeal are unoppressed by 
the heavy load which all the difficulties and obstacles 
of life soon cast upon them, — was commanded to 
march into Catalonia, and take possession of the 
country* which the Saracen irruption had snatched 
from the power of France. 

Louis, however, notwithstanding his youth, want- 
ed entirely the active vigour of Charlemagne ; and 
though he made frequent expeditions into Spain, 
obtained some successes, took Lerida, and finally 
recovered the Spanish March, Huesca baffled his 
efforts more than once ; and a marked difference 
was to be seen in all his proceedings, from the rapid 
and sweeping energy which had borne forward his 
progenitors to conquest and to empire. 

It has been frequently asserted, that the young 
King of Aquitaine either advanced in person to the 
assistance of Alphonso, the Christian monarch of 
Spain, or sent a large detachment to his aid : but as 
neither the annalists of Charlemagne nor the espe- 
cial biographers of Louis himself make any mention 
of such a circumstance,! it must not be admitted as 
an historical fact. Nevertheless, it cannot be doubted 
that a great and effectual diversion was operated 

* Astronom. Anon, in Vit. Ludovic Pii ; Ann. Tiliani ; Ann. Eginhard. 

tTwo expeditions, detached from the mam body of Louis's army, are 
mentioned by the astronomer, who composed an account of his life. The 
first, while the king was besieging Barcelona, made their way into the 
Asturias, and is said to have twice defeated the army of Cordova, which 
was advancing to the relief of the Catalonian capital. The second was 
directed against Tortosa; but in neither instance do we find that the 
Frankish troops were joined by the Goths of Spain, or acted in co-opera*: 
lion with them. 



332 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

in favour of Alphonso by the warfare carried on by 
Louis in Catalonia ; and much of the success of that 
great monarch, in his struggles with the infidel 
strangers, who, locust-like, had invaded his land, 
may be attributed to the divided state of the Moorish 
councils and armies. Thus, while the Gothic Chris- 
tians, going on from conquest to conquest, succeeded 
in establishing a united and independent kingdom, 
and while Alphonso, triumphant at the very gates of 
Lisbon, despatched part of the spoil of the Moors to 
Charlemagne, less indeed as a gift than as a proof of 
victory, and an inducement to co-operation, the 
monarch of the Franks used every means to retain 
the Saracen forces on the frontier, and promote the 
divisions which existed in their empire. 

Many opportunities for effecting this purpose pre- 
sented themselves. Abdallah, the exiled brother of 
Issem, sought the court of the Frankish sovereign,* 
and, according to his own request,- was sent back 
with honour to Spain, in order to head the party of 
his adherents. Zatun, the Emir of Barcelona, soon 
forgetting his engagements with the Christians, 
returned to the domination of his former lord, and 
called back the Saracen power into the Spanish 
March. A new war instantly succeeded ; and after 
a lingering siege of two years, Barcelona was recap- 
tured by the Franks,! and the defensive frontier of 
France, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, was 
restored to the state in which Charlemagne had left 
it. All these wars in the north of Spain acted as a 
continual drain upon the Moorish forces, and enabled 
Alphonso to contend with some degree of equality 
against their power. At the same time, the Spanish 
March was restored, and the passes of the Pyrenees 
were defended, by the care of Louis, with fortresses 
the remains of which, either real or imaginary, are 
shown to the present day. 

f* A. D. 797 ; Ann. Loisel. t A. D. 801 ; Ermoldus Nigellus. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 333 

These objects being attained, Charlemagne made 
no other effort on the side of Spain. It is true, he 
might have urged his conquest farther, and possibly, 
taking advantage of the weakness of all parties in 
the Peninsula, might have added that territory also 
to those which he already possessed. Some persons 
have censured him for not making the attempt ; and, 
indeed, had either conquest or conversion been his 
sole object in any of his enterprises, the situation 
of Spain would have invited his march. But in all 
his wars, either the security of himself or his allies 
had been an ingredient in his motives. Such induce- 
ments did not exist in the case of Spain : Alphonso 
was already well able to defend himself, especially 
after a vigorous diversion had given him the means 
of establishing his power on a firm basis ; and the 
Pyrenees formed a sufficient frontier barrier for the 
French territory, as long as the Spanish March was 
preserved. No motive, therefore, but simple ambi- 
tion could have carried Charlemagne back to Spain 
after these objects were accomplished ; and the 
ambition of that great man was always mingled with 
something which elevated it far above the ordinary 
passion of vulgar conquerors. 

Having, both in regard to the Saxons and the 
Saracens of Spain, violated the exact march of 
chronology for the sake of brevity and perspicuity, 
I may be permitted . also to conclude the warfare 
with the Huns in this place, and to dispose of va- 
rious other occurrences of minor consequence, in 
order that the more important events which were 
preparing in Italy may be noticed with separate 
distinctness. 

The active hostilities which, from time to time, 
took place against the Avars, like those carried on 
with the Saracens, were no longer conducted by 
Charlemagne in person ; and the annalists of the time, 
who principally directed their attention to the pro- 
ceedings of the monarch, leave in very great obscu- 



334 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

rity both the motives for renewing the war and 
the circumstances which took place in its course.* 
It is certain, however, that very shortly after the last 
victorious expedition of Pepin King of Italy, Thudun, 
the Hunnish chief, who had abandoned his religion 
and betrayed his country, unscrupulously violated 
the oaths which he had taken to Charlemagne ; and, 
probably, with a view to render himself master of 
the whole territory, took arms, and prepared to offer 
a more desperate resistance than the Franks had 
hitherto encountered.f Two of Charlemagne's offi- 
cers, one named Count Ceroid,;}; and the other Her- 
ric, Duke of Friuli, collected their forces with all 
speed, and being already posted on the frontier, 
hastened severally forward into Hungary, in hopes 
of suppressing the revolt before time and prepara- 
tion had rendered it general and dangerous. It is 
probable that the desire of taking their enemy by 
surprise engendered some degree of negligence on 
the part of both the Frankish generals.^ Advancing 
from opposite sides of the country, the one, the 
Duke of Friuli, || was led into an ambuscade^" and 
killed, with all his followers ; while Count Gerold 
suddenly found himself in presence of a Hunnish 
army, and was slain as he was addressing his army, 
preparatory to a general battle,** the event of which 
is doubtful. ft 

*It would appear that the government of the Avars was, at this time, 
very nearly approaching to a complete feudalism. The king, or, as he 
was termed, the chagan, though possessing a certain degree of general 
jurisdiction over his vassals, was very much circumscribed in power 
by the authority of the various inferior chiefs. Probably the whole 
history of Thudun may resolve itself into the struggles of a great vassal 
to raise himself to the sovereignty by the overthrow of the existing 
dynasty. 

t Ann. Mettens. J He commanded on the marches of Bavaria. 

§ A. D. 799. || Ann. Mettens. ; Ann. Tiliani ; Ann. Loisel. 

II" Eginhard states, that Herric was slain by the treachery of the inhab- 
itants of Tarsacos, a town of Liburnia, after innumerable and brilliant 
victories over the Huns. 

** Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magni. 

ttMany reasons exist for believing that the Franks completely defeated 
tixe Huns, among which is the fact of the body of Gerold having been 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 335 

From that period the course of the warfare against 
the Huns remains obscure ; but that Charlemagne 
did not suffer the death of his generals to remain 
unavenged, nor the hostilities against the Avars to 
linger, is evident from various circumstances ; and 
in the year 803 we find him at Ratisbon, writing for 
the return of his army from Hungary. That army 
returned completely victorious ; and the Huns, now 
permanently subdued, embraced the Christian reli- 
gion, and did general homage to the Frankish sove- 
reign.* 

The fate of Thudun is not known. Some accountsf 
declare that he was taken and executed for the breach 
of the vows which he had before plighted to the mon- 
arch of the Franks, but there is every reason to 
believe this statement to be perfectly erroneous ; and, 
at the final subjection of his nation, we hear of a 
prince named Zudun, or Zodan,| Duke of Panonia, 
who, with the rest of his countrymen, claimed and 
received the clemency of the king. That the indi- 
vidual who did so was the same who had before 
submitted in the year 795 is not only probable, but 
almost certain.^ 

Although Charlemagne had to treat with the Hun- 



carried back into Bavaria, and buried at Augia or Richenaw. The chief 
cause for believing that the Huns were victorious is the silence of tho 
best Frankish annals on the event of the battle. But it is to be remarked, 
that a great, difference is to be found between the national writers of that 
period and those of our own. At present many a victory is recorded 
which was never won ; and in that day successes were often left un- 
mentioned which might have been claimed with honour. 

* Ann. Lambeeiani ; Ann. Mettensis. 

[Monsieur Gaillard asserts that he was taken and executed a» a 
felon, — a circumstance for which he gives no authority, for which I can 
find none, which is clearly contradicted by the Annals of Metz, ann. 811, 
and which is, in all probability, as purely imaginary as the rest of his 
account of the Hunuish war — or of his history of Charlemagne. 

t Ann. Mettensis. 

§ The short chronicle of St. Gall, in reference to the year 795, calls 
Thudun Zotanus dux de Pannonia, affording a strong presumption that 
the Annals of Metz may have called him by the same name in 803, 
though the same annals, in an alter passage, restore his name to the 
proper orthography. * 



336 HISTORY OE CHARLEMAGNE. 

nish people as a conqueror with the conquered ; and 
although the state of weakness to which they had 
been reduced by the warfare they had themselves 
begun with the Franks left them no powers of re- 
sistance ; though their country was little better than 
an empty desert,* and their armies scattered like 
dust before the wind, — yet we do not find that the 
monarch took any base or unworthy advantage of 
their prostrate situation. He required some time 
to deliberate, we. are told, upon the arrangements to 
be entered into with the vanquished people ; but, at 
length, he dismissed those who had sought him at 
Ratisbon with kindness and honour. No precise 
information, indeed, exists in regard to the degree 
of submission which he demanded, or in respect to 
the influence he exercised in the government of the 
conquered country. But that he left the nation all 
their native laws and old forms of administration is 
clear ; though we may infer, from the circumstance 
of his ratification having been afterward required 
for the nomination of a chagan, that his assent was 
requisite on the elevation of any individual to the 
supreme dignity of the state. To spread the Chris- 
tian religion universally among the people, and to 
ensure the purity of the doctrine taught, appears to 
have been the only interference which Charlemagne 
exercised in the domestic affairs of the Avars. But, 
at the same time, it would seem, that, in accordance 
with the advice of Alcuin,f he exempted them from 
the payment of tithes to the priests whom he sent 
among them, and defended them with ready zeal 
from the attacks of external enemies. 

For nearly thirty years Charles the Great had 
reigned over the Franks, seeing his dominions, his 
power, and , his fame increase every hour. His 
court was not only the refuge of the unfort^ 



* Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni, cap; xiii. 
t EpisL Alcuin, Abb. VII. ad 1). Car. Reg. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 337 

but was the resort of ambassadors from all nations ; 
and a history of the various embassies, and their 
causes, which from time to time reached his pres- 
ence, would afford no incomplete picture of the 
general progress of the world during his life. Be- 
sides the envoys twice sent by Alphonso, the Gothic 
King of Spain, bearing rich presents,* and instructed 
to call their monarch the faithful vassalf of the 
; French king, a number of other messengers pre- 
sented themselves at his court during the years 
707-8-9, the most important of whom were those, 
either directly or indirectly, despatched by the em- 
pire of the East. 

For many years Irene, the beautiful Athenian girl 
who had been bestowed on Leo the Isaurian, had 
continued, after the death of her husband, to sway 
with delegated power the sceptre of the East, as the 
guardian of her son ; but, after a time, her authority 
became irksome, both to the prince, whom she strove 
still to enthral, after the period of pupilage was over, 
and to the people, from whom she exacted an undue 
submission. The Armenian guards of the emperor, 
the countrymen of the wife which -she herself had 
given him, were the first to oppose her encroach- 
ments ; the youthful Constantine seconded their 
efforts, resumed the power which had been intrusted 
to his mother, and consigned her once more to a 
private station. But power to man or woman is like 
blood to the lion — once tasted, it brings a consuming 
thirst for more. What Irene could not accomplish 
by boldness she undertook by art. She submitted 
with apparent resignation ; and while she attempted 
by flattery and caresses to regain the affection of 
her son, she laid within the walls of his palace a 

* These consisted of a tent of extraordinary beauty and sire, neren 
Moorish slaves, together with mules, arms, gold, and other spoil taken 
from the Saracens. — Eginhard's Annals. 

tEginnard, in Vit. Car. Magni; Ann. Tiliani- Ann. Loiseiiani; Ann, 
Fuitiunses. 

Ff 



338 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

deep intrigue for his destruction. One of the first 
steps of the young emperor, after he had taken the 
staff of rule into his own hands, was to seek the 
friendship of the great monarch of the Franks ; and 
he transmitted to the patrician Nicetas,* who then 
governed Sicily, an epistle, to be sent forward to 
Charlemagne, in order to bring about a closer alliance 
than had hitherto existed between the courts of 
France and Constantinople. In compliance with 
the emperor's commands, Nicetas instantly des- 
patched the letter by an envoy named Theoctistes, 
who found the monarch at Aix-la-Chapelle. He was 
immediately admitted to an audience, and acquitted 
himself of his charge ; but his embassy proved fruit- 
less ; for, while still upon his journey, a change had 
taken place in the Eastern capital. The plots of 
Irene had been successful : Constantine VI. indeed, 
suspecting some design against his liberty, had made 
his escape for a time from Constantinople ; but his 
flight did not place him beyond the influence of his 
mother's cabals. His officers and attendants were 
the creatures of her will ; and fears lest their trea- 
son should be betrayed by its instigator gave them 
courage to accomplish their crime. Constantine 
was carried back by force to his capital, to his pal- 
ace, and to the chamber of his birth, wherein his 
own servants, by the commands of his own mother, 
deprived him for ever of the light of day. 

When any singular natural phenomenon follows 
or precedes the great actions or mighty crimes of 
human beings, the superstitious vanity which teaches 
man to regard himself as the prime object of all. 
creation easily points out a sympathy in the inani- 
mate world with the interests of mankind. Thus, 
an extraordinary darkness which pervaded the£ 
greater part of Europe during seventeen daysf after 
the unnatural crime of Irene, was universally attrib- 

*Ann. Tilianij Aim. Eginhard. "fChron. SigibertL 




HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 339 

uted, in those times, to her cruel ambition. Un- 
daunted, however, by omens, the empress, now 
acknowledged sole ruler of the East, hastened to 
secure her power as far as human cunning might 
prevail. To court the sovereigns around her to 
peace or alliance till such time as her authority- 
was established at home was one great object; and 
the next ambassadors from Constantinople which 
appeared at the court of Charlemagne were Theo- 
philus* and Michel, surnamed Ganglianos, two men 
of high station and distinction, who came charged, 
apparently, with the unimportant task of soliciting 
the enlargement of Sisinius, an officer who had been 
captured in Italy, on the defeat of Adalgisus. He 
was, it is true, the brother of Tarisius, Patriarch of 
Constantinople, who had been the secretary and 
favourite of the empress ; but the patrician Michel 
and his companion were intrusted, in reality, with a 
more important mission — that of communicating to 
the monarch of the Franks the cruel treason which 
had been perpetrated on the person of the unhappy 
Constantine, and of negotiating a peace between 
Constantinople and France. 

The envoys stated, that the fallen emperor had 
been blinded by his attendants, on account of his 
depravities and tyranny ; and Charlemagne, whether 
he believed the tale or not, — though it is probable, 
from his annals perpetuating the same story, that he 
did, — entered willingly into the alliance proposed by 
Irene ; and, at her request, sent back to his native 
country the unfortunate Sisinius. f 

About this time,! which in the life of Charle- 
magne was a period of negotiations, his first com- 
munication was opened with the great ruler of Asia. 
The throne of the caliphs had, some time before, 
passed to the family of the Abbassides, and the 

•A. D.798; Ann. Tiliani; Ann. Loiseliani; Ann. Mettensis; Ana, 
Poet. Saxon, 
t Eginhard, Annalea X Ann. Tiliani. 



340 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

mightiest of that family now governed the eastern 
continent. Haroun al Raschid,* so well known in 
both real and fabulous history, first signalized his 
arms against the empress of Constantinople, while 
yet she wielded the sceptre in the name of her son. 
He also, at that period, acted only as deputy for his 
father Mohadi. But after having advanced to the 
shores of the Bosphorus, and having treated with 
Irene for the security of her territories, he retired 
on receiving seventy thousand dinars of gold ; and 
assumed, soon afterward, the sovereign power, on 
the death of his father and his brother. Custom, 
with most of the oriental nations, is very readily 
fixed into a law, known among some of themf by 
the name of adeth, or canoun ; and, once established, 
is regarded as a kind of covenant, which is as bind- 
ing as if written. Whether this understanding existed 
in the time of Haroun al Raschid or not I do not 
know, but the seventy thousand dinars of gold, after 
having once' been given, soon grew into an annual 
tribute, which the Greek empire found less expen- 
sive to pay than to neglect. Either by the convey- 
ance of this tribute, Or by the expeditions to which 
its occasional cessation gave rise, a constant inter- 
course of some kind was maintained between Con- 
stantinople and Bagdad. Various other means of 
communication also existed, both in the wanderings 
of the Jews, who were at this period spread over, 
and tolerated in all lands, and in the nascent efforts 
of commerce on the shores of the Mediterranean. 

There were then but two great monarchs in the 
world; and the ears of the caliph were filled with 
the wars and enterprises of the sovereign of the 
Franks, who was either an open adversary or but a 
cold ally of the Greeks, on whom he himself tram- 
pled, and who was also the continual enemy of the 
Omaiades of Spain, whom the Abbassi contemned 

.* Kerbelot, Bibliotfc. Orientals t D'Ohsson. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 34] 

as heretics, and hated as rivals. The caliph beheld 
in the European king the same bold and daring 
spirit, the same rapid energy, the same indefatigable 
zeal, the same magnificent designs, by which he 
himself was animated, and similarity of mind, free 
from rivalry of interests, produced admiration, 
respect, and affection.* The feelings were the 
same in the breast of Charlemagne ; and reciprocal 
regard soon produced a more direct communion. 
At length,! in 797, one of those wandering strangers 
who are so frequently to be found in the courts of 
monarchs undertook to conduct ambassadors from 
the French king to the presence of the caliph. 
Three envoys were accordingly sent, under the con- 
duct of Isaac the Hebrew,! as he is called by the 
annalists ; and were charged to offer the presents and 
the friendship of the French sovereign to the ruler 
of Asia. The Frankish ambassadors reached the 
court of the caliph in safety ; and, having acquitted 
themselves of their mission, and received the gift 
of an elephant, which they had been instructed to 
request, prepared to return to Europe. The change 
of climate, however, proved fatal to the Franks ; 
and Isaac the Jew, leaving the bones of his com- 
panions in Asia, returned alone, bringing with him 
the elephant and other presents^ from the oriental 
sovereign, together with the proud but flattering 
assurance from the mighty follower of Mohammed, 
that he regarded the "friendship of Charlemagne 
more than that of all the monarchs of the universe. 
Such were the feelings of Haroun al Raschid 

* Gibbon declares, that it is not easy to conceive the private friendship 
of a Frank and an Arab, who were strangers to each other's person, and 
language, and religion; but surely it will never be difficult to conceive 
the existence of admiration and esteem for virtue, magnanimity, and 
talent, however far removed from ourselves by time, or space, or circum- 
stance, so long as virtue, magnanimity, and talent remain upon earth. 

t Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magni ; Eginhard, Annales, SOO. 

J A. D. 797. 

$Ann. Francorum Lambeciani ;. Chron. Moissiac: Eginhard, in Vit. 
Car. Magni, 600 A. D. 

Ff2 



342 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

towards the sovereign of the Franks, and such was 
the state of intercourse between them when the 
patriarch of Jerusalem,* moved by what circum- 
stances we do not know, despatched a monk of Mount 
Olivet to the court of France, bearing his benedic- 
tion, and various relics from the holy places of the 
East, to the great promoter of Christianity in Europe. 

Long prior to that period (about the year 637), 
Jerusalem had fallen under the yoke of the Saracens, 
and the Christians of the Hebrew capital had been 
doomed for a long time to a general capitation-tax 
of two pieces of gold for each individual of the im- 
poverished population. Three-fourths of the town, 
also, had been usurped by the infidels ; and whether 
the patriarch, in his embassy to Charlemagne, sought 
to mitigate ihe sufferings, of his flock by securing 
intercession with the caliph, or was actuated solely 
by reverence for the many deeds of charity which 
the French monarch performed in favour of the 
pilgrims to the holy shrine, and the poor Christians 
of the African and Syrian coast,f his conduct was, 
at all events, attended with the most beneficial 
effects to the faithftil inhabitants of the holy city. 

The messenger of the patriarch was received with 
honour and kindness ; and, anxious to spread com- 
fort and consolation to every quarter of the world, 
Charlemagne' suffered him not to depart without an 
effort to ameliorate the situation of 'the Asiatic Chris- 
tians. Zacharias, one of the ecclesiastics of his 
palace, was ordered to accompany the Syrian monk 
to the presence* of the caliph, and to use all the 
influence of the name of Charlemagne, in order to 
procure the favour of the Mohammedan monarch 
for his Christian subjects. At the same time, the 
sovereign of the Franks sent innumerable rich 
offerings to the shrine of the holy sepulchre, toge- 



*Ann. Tiliani; Ann. Loiseliani; Ann. Eginhard. 
t Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 343 

ther with alms for the consolation of pilgrims and 
travellers. 

Charlemagne had not calculated wrongly on the 
magnanimity or the friendship of Haroun. Tin 
monarch of the East not only interposed* from that 
moment the shield of his protection between the 
Christians of Jerusalem and the oppression of his 
vicegerents, but he placed it in the power of Charle- 
magne himself to provide for their wants, their 
safety, and their comfort. 

In reply to the message of the French monarch, 

the caliph sent back the priests who had been 

despatched to his court, bearing to Charlemagne the 

of the holy places, 1 r with a standard,! 

as the mark of sovereignty! in Jerusalem. 

Nor was this gift unimportant either in the eyes 
of him who gave, or of him who received ; for it 
must be remembered that the Mohammedans look 
upon the holy city with reverence little, if at all, 
inferior to that with winch it is regarded by the 
Christians. 



* William of Tyre, book i. 

tThis fact has been a matter of dispute, both in regard to its having 
taken place at all, and the meaning to be attributed to it if it did take 
place. The authorities in the margin establish the circumstance of the 
standard and keys baring been Ken', ns clearly as any historical fact ever 
wa3, or ever will be, established; and, in regard to the interpretation to 
be put upon that procedure, on the part of Haroun, the words of Eginhard, 
a contemporary, can leave no mannerof doubt. "Ac proinde, cum legati 
ejus, quos cum donariis ad sacratissimum Domini ac Salvatoris mundi 
sepulchrum locurnque resurrections miserat, ad euro venissent, et ei, 
domini sui voluntatem, mdicassent. non solum qua; petabantur fieri per- 
rnisit, sed etiam sacrum ilium et salutarern locum, ut illius potestati 
adscriberetur, concessit." — Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni, cap. xvi. 

It may be well to remark also, as Eginhard does not pointedly men- 
tion in this place whether the whole city, or merely the sepulchre, was 
given into the hands of Charlemagne, that the Tilian Annals, the oldest 
record of the event, and which were composed during the life of Charle- 
magne himself, state that the keys also of the city and the Mount were 
Bent with the banner from Jerusalem, "Claves Sepulcri Domini, claves 
etiam civitatis et Montis cum vexillo detulerunt" — Ann. Tiliani, ad 
ann. 801. 

+ Ann. Tiliani; Ann. Loiaeliam; Chron. Moissiac; Ann. Eginhardi; 
Lhioa. Adorns , Ann. Mettc.. 



844 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

From that time forward, during the whole reign 
of Haroun al Raschid, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
to use the words of William of Tyre, seemed to live 
more under the domination of Charles than under 
that of their original sovereign. But Charlemagne 
made no vain, no ambitious, and no offensive use of 
the power with which the caliph intrusted him. 
He attempted to establish no claim of permanent 
domination— to revive no ancient pretensions to the 
city ; he interfered not with the Moslem — he exer- 
cised no act of dominion, but for the consolation of 
the Christians of the place, and for the comfort and 
protection of the pilgrims to the holy shrine. For 
those objects, indeed, he spared neither care, nor 
trouble, nor expense ; and we find, that during his 
whole life, in the midst of a thousand other labours, 
and surrounded by anxieties without number, he 
never forgot or neglected his charitable exertions 
for the Christians of the East. Alms,* assistance, 
and protection evinced his kindness and his zeal, 
during his life ; and, long after his death, a monas- 
tery, an hospital, and a library consoled the pilgrim, 
and perpetuated his bounty. 

Haroun al Raschid esteemed the moderation as 
much as the talents of the French monarch; and 
the very temperate use of authority, which has 
caused the gift of the holy city to be doubted by 
modern historians, secured him the regard of his 
great contemporary. Other embassies followed, 
from the Asiatic to the European court. A variety 
of magnificent presents! attested the continued 

*Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Mag. ; Mabillon, Ann. Ordinis; S. Benedict, 
lib. xxxvii. 

t These presents consisted of various articles of Eastern luxury, such 
as balms and precious ointments, perfumes, robes of fine silk, and a tent 
of beautiful colours and remarkable construction. But besides these 
were sent other objects, which tend to show the progress which art had 
at this time made in the East. The first of these was a clock of gilded 
bronze, round which the course of the twelve hours was displayed; 
while at the end of each hour, the number of brazen balls which were 
requisite to mark the division of time were thrown out from above, and 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 345 

esteem of the caliph for his Christian friend ; and 
unbroken amity* and undiminished admiration 
reigned between the two greatest monarchs of 
the age, during the whole course of their mutual 
reign. 

The carriage of such objects as the presents sent 
from Bagdad to France was, of course,' attended with 
no small inconvenience ; and the neglected state of 
the science of navigation rendered the journeys of 
the ambassadors long and dangerous. Between 
three and four years were generally consumed in a 
mission from one capital to another ;f and, indeed, 
it happened more than once that even after arriving 
within the dominions of the Frankish monarch, the 
envoys had still to seek him over a tract nearly as 
extensive as that which they had before crossed. 
Where a much greater degree of civilization exists 
in the monarch than in his subjects — where his mind 
must conceive every great undertaking, and his eye 
must see it executed, without relying on the inferior 
spirits that toil, with the pace of pigmies, after his 
giant footsteps,— it.is seldom, of course, that he can 
enjoy repose in any one place for a considerable 
length of time. But at the period in the life of 
Charlemagne which we are now considering, his 
journeys were more frequent, long, and difficult than 
at any previous epoch. 

Besides the unconcluded war which was still 
raging with the Saxons, and which, as we have 
seen, occupied so much of his attention, other 
dangers threatened his kingdom, in such a manner 
as to render the preparations necessary for defence 
more extensive and general than had hitherto been 

falling consecutively on a cymbal below, struck the hour required. In 
like manner, a number of horsemen issued forth from windows, placed 
around the dial ; while a number of other clock-work miracles attested 
the height which the mechanical arts bad reached at the court of 
Haroun. 

*Ann. Loiseliani; Ann. Eginhardi. 

tEginhard, Ann. ami. 801. 



346 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

called for by any event of his reign. The same 
natural causes which had impelled the nations of 
the north, in succession, to invade the more fruit- 
ful and cultivated countries of the south of Europe, 
were now acting upon the Danes or Normans ; and 
the same advantages of seacoast and easy ports, 
which had given a maritime character to the early 
expeditions of the Saxonb, tended to lead this new 
horde of barbarians to carry on their warfare on the 
waves. 

Long before the present period, the Normans had 
begun to essay their strength upon the sea ; and in 
the absence* of domestic arts, as the population of 
the country increased withoat the means of supply, 
the desire of wandering and the necessity of plunder 
drove them forth to seek in other lands the wealth 
they possessed not in their own. 

Repelled in their first attempts upon Saxony by 
the Abrodites and other allies of France, which 
Charlemagne had placed on the borders of Germany, 
the Normans spread themselves over the ocean; 
and, by entering rapidly the mouths of the prin- 
cipal rivers, and making fierce and sudden descents 
upon the banks,f they had now more than Once 
carried terror and desolation into parts of France 
which had previously been exempt from the horrors 
of war. 

Nothing was heard but complaints, and cries, and 
petitions for protection from the inhabitants of the 
coast ; and the first moment that his presence could 
be spared by the armies warring in Saxony, Charle- 
magne hastened in person to examine the evil, and 
prepare a remedy. Scarcely had the spring of the 
year 800 appeared when the monarch set out from 
his palace at Aix-la-Chapelle, and, traversing the 
whole of France s J followed the coast of the Bay of 

: * Ann. Eginhard. 

t Vit. CaroliMagni; Eginhard, Script. ; Ann. Eginhard. 
% Ann. Tiliani ; Eginhard, Annates. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE, 347 

Biscay, which had been particularly infested by the 
Norman pirates ; established fortresses and garri- 
sons to defend the shore ; and, causing an immense 
number of small vessels to be built, he stationed 
them, well manned and armed, in the mouths of all 
the principal rivers of France and Germany.* Thus 
the Normans found themselves opposed at every 
point ; and, in an extraordinary short space of time, 
the whole coast which had been subject to their 
depredations was in a complete state of defence. 
Driven back in every effort to land, they abandoned 
for the time their attempts upon the shores of 
France, and contented themselves with ravaging 
some of the small islands scattered on the borders 
of the German Sea. During this journey round the 
coast, Charlemagne is said to have arrived at one of 
the ports at the moment that the Norman pirates 
appeared. The invaders, however, learning the 
presence of the monarch, set all sail, and bore away; 
but Charlemagne remained gazing upon their depart- 
ing vessels, while the tears were seen to roll over 
his cheeks. "I weep not, my friends," he said, 
turning to the nobles, who looked on in surprise, 
"because I fear myself those miserable savages; 
but I weep that they should dare to show them- 
selves upon my coast while I am living, for I foresee 
the evils they will bring upon my people when I 
am dead."f 

Charlemagne, finding the entire success of the 
plan he had adopted against the Normans, pursued 
the same system in regard to Italy, and to the 
French provinces on the shores of the Mediterra- 
nean. These were as much threatened and as often 
plundered by the Moors as the northern and western 
portions of his territory were by the Danes ; and 
the same scheme of defence, adapted to both, pro- 
duced equally happy effects. The mouths of the 

* Vit. Car. Magni, Eginbard. | Mon. S. Gall. lib. ii. cap, 22, 



348 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

Rhone, the entrance of the Tiber, and all the ports 
of Provence and Italy were furnished with armed 
vessels, continually prepared to repel and to revenge 
invasion ; and the Saracens, with the exception of 
the capture and pillage of Civita Vecchia, gained no 
further advantage on the shores of Italy. 

As soon as he had concluded the preparations 
necessary to defend the coast of France, Charle- 
magne returned to the monastery of St. Richarius, 
near Abbeville, probably with the design of holding 
the general assembly of the nation, and proceeding 
immediately towards Rome. The illness of his 
queen, Luidgarde, however, opposed a temporary 
obstacle to the execution of this purpose. With 
that domestic tenderness which formed a fine and 
endearing point in the character of the great mon- 
arch, Charlemagne accompanied the dying queen to 
Tours ; knelt with her* at the shrine of the saint 
whose virtues she fancied might restore her to 
health ; closed her eyes, after skill and prayers had 
proved impotent to save her, and rendered the last 
sad offices to the clay of her whom he had loved.f 

* Ann. Loiseliani ; Ann. Tiliani ; Eginhardi Annales. 

f The time of her marriage to Charlemagne is not very clear. Her 
name is also written sometimes Luidgarde, sometimes Liudgardei The 
poem De Carolo Magno et Leonis Papae, which gives a splendid account 
bfaer dress, represents her as very beautiful. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 349 



BOOK XIII. 

from Charlemagne's last visit to rome, to 
his death. 

FROM A. D. 800 to a: D. 814. 

Affairs of Italy— Conspiracy of Paschal and Campulus— Attempted 
Mutilation of the Pope— His Recovery and Escape— Reinstated by 
Charlemagne— Examination of the Accusation brought against him — 
Charlemagne visits Rome— Investigates in person the Cha'rges against 
Leo— They are unsupported— Charlemagne saluted and crowned 
Emperor of the Romans— War with Beneventum— Concluded— Nego- 
tiations concerning the Limits of the Eastern and Western Empires— 
With Irene— With Nicephorus— State of Venice— War with theDanea 
averted for a time— War with the Bohemians— Charter of Division 
between the Sons of Charlemagne— War with the Bohemians con- 
cluded — War with the Danes begun and ended— War with the Vene- 
tians — Death of the two elder Sons of Charlemagne— He associates 
Louis to the Throne— Death of Charlemagne— His Character. 

While such had been the occupations of Charle- 
magne in France and Germany, Rome had been the 
theatre of events which strongly called for his pres- 
ence in Italy. The hatred which Campulus and 
Paschal, the two disappointed aspirants to the 
papacy, had conceived against the more successful 
Leo had slumbered, but was not extinct ; and towards 
the year 799 some circumstances which are not 
known seem to have roused it into new activity. 
The ecclesiastical situations held by the two fac- 
tious Romans, and the favour with which they were 
regarded by the unsuspecting Leo himself, gave 
them many opportunities, we might imagine, for 
executing any project of revenge which went the 
length of assassination. It would appear, however, 
that Paschal and his fellow-conspirator, though de- 
termined to gratify their vengeance, and to open the 
way to their ambition, by rendering the pope incapa- 
Og 



350 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE* 

ble of fulfilling the pontifical office, hoped, by a mix*> 
ture of boldness and art, to escape the penal conse- 
quences of their crime, and to cover the mutilation 
they intended to perform under the hurry and con- 
fusion of a popular tumult. 

The moment they chose for the perpetration of 
their design was while the pope, attended by all the 
clergy, and followed by all the populace, rode in 
state through a part of the city,* performing what 
was called the Greater Litany. On the day ap- 
pointed for the solemnity — the 25th of April — the 
ceremonies commenced without any appearance of 
danger, or any suspicion of treason. Paschal and 
Campulus were placed close to the person of the 
chief pontiff, and are said to have received from him 
some new mark of kindness on that very morning. 
All passed tranquilly till the line of the procession 
approached the monastery of St. Stephen and St. 
Sylvester ; and even then the banners and crosses, 
the clerks and the chorists, which preceded the pope, 
were permitted to advance, till suddenly, as the 
higher clergy began to traverse the space before the 
building, armed men were seen mingling among the 
people. The march of the procession was ob- 
structed ; a panic seized both the populace and the 
clergy. All fled but Campulus, Paschal, and their 
abetters ; and Leo was left alone in the hands of 
the conspirators. The pontiff was immediately 
assailed and cast upon the ground ; and, with eager 
but trembling hands, — for crime is generally fear- 
ful, — the traitors proceeded to attempt the extinc- 
tion of his sight, and the mutilation of his tongue. f 

* Anastasius Bibliothecarius, in Vit. Leonis III. 

t Chron. Moissiac. Almost every different annalist gives a different 
version of this story ; but the account furnished by the Chronicle of 
Moissiac is the most probable. Anastasius, the Tilian Annals, and even 
Eginhard, as well as several others, declare that the eyes of the unfor- 
tunate pope were torn from his head, and his tongne cut out by the 
knives of the coiispi/aLora; ami attribute, without scruple, his recovery 
of sight and speech to a miracle. The Chronicle of Moissiac, however* 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 351 

It is probable that the struggles of their unfortunate 
victim disappointed the strokes of the conspirators ; 
and that his exhaustion from terror, exertion, and 
loss of blood deceived them into a belief that they 
had more than accomplished their purpose. Dispers- 
ing the moment the deed was committed, the chief 
conspirators left the apparently lifeless body of the 
prelate to be dragged into the monastery of St. 
Erasmus,* which was done under the pretence of 
yielding him aid and succour, but in reality with the 
intention of retaining his person in captivity, if he 
survived the horrible infliction with which they had 
visited him. The news of the crime which had been 
committed spread like lightning, not only through 
Rome itself, but to the adjacent states, and soon 
reached the ears of Winegisus Duke of Spoleto, 
who, though frequently opposed to the see of Rome, 
was on all occasions a frank and gallant enemy, or 
a sincere and zealous friend. Without losing an 
instant, the Duke of Spoletof armed in favour of the 
pope, and, marching with all speed, encamped under 
the walls of Rome. 

In the mean while, Leo had recovered from the 
first effect of his wounds, and was in a state to 
second the efforts which were made for his release 
by his friends and attendants. Albinus,| his cham- 
berlain, left no means untried to assist him ; and 
co-operators having been found in the interior of 
the convent^ in which he was confined, he was 

says, — " Voluerunt eruere occulos ejus, et eum morti tradere. Sed 
juxta dei dixpemationen, malum quod inchoaverant non perfecerunt," 
which, though not such good Latin as that of Eginhard or Anastasius, is 
much better sense. Theophanes declares, that the people commissioned 
to blind the pope spared him out of compassion ; but the wounds which 
they inflicted, in attempting the mutilation which they did not complete, 
prove that the awkwardness, not the compassion, of his assailants was 
the cause of Leo's escape. 

* Paulus Diaconus, Supp. ad Gest. Langobard. ; Eginhard, Annales. 

t Eginhard, Annales. ^ I 

t Anastasius Biblioth. in Vit. Leonis III. ; Annales Lambeciani ; Ann 
Tiliani. 

$ Paul. Piac. in Supp. Gest. Langobardorum. 



352 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

lowered from the walls by ropes, and restored to 
his friends, who immediately conveyed him to the 
church of St. Peter. His recovery and escape 
struck the conspirators with astonishment and ter- 
ror ; and their suspicions instantly fixing upon the 
chamberlain as the person who had contrived his 
evasion and had given him refuge, they attacked that 
officer's house, which was speedily plundered and 
destroyed.* 

Before they could proceed, however, to further 
search, the arrival of the Duke of Spoleto with an 
overpowering force put a stop to their outrages ; 
and the pope, placing himself under his protection, 
retired to Spoleto, while messengers were des- 
patched to Charlemagne to communicate the events 
and demand instructions.! The news reached the 
monarch of the Franks as he was about to head one 
of his many expeditions into Saxony ; and, without 
pausing on his march, he commanded Winegisus to 
send the Roman pontiff forward to Paderborn, with 
all the pomp and honour due to the successor of St. 
Peter. 

His commands were immediately obeyed ; and 
Leo was received at the military court of the mon- 
arch with distinction and kindness. Nevertheless, 
accusations were not wanting against the pontiff 

* Anastasius. • 

t Anastas. Biblioth. ; Ann. Eginhardi, A. D. 799. I have collated the 
accounts of the various annalists and historians of that time; and I 
find that, though each recounts that part of Leo's escape which hap- 
pened to strike him most, and omits the rest of the circumstances, they 
are not absolutely opposed to each other (except in the miraculous 
restoration of the pope's tongue and eyes) in any point. Monsieur 
Gail lard, however, differs from all the authors contemporary with the 
events, in regard to the means of Leo's deliverance, declaring that " Albin, 
Camerlingue du Saintsiege, vine a main armee enlever le pape pendant 
la nuit." The only authors whom he cites, however, speak differ- 
ently. Anastasius makes use of the words, " Ex ipso cum clausiro 
occulte abstollentes." Eginhard uses the words, "Noctu per-murum 
demissua ;" and Theophanes never mentions the manner of his escape, 
The Lambecian Annals particularly point out, that he was enabled to get 
out of his place of confinement by means of ropes, through the exertions 
of Albinus. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 353 

himself ; and, though what the crimes were with 
which his enemies charged Leo cannot be discov- 
ered, it is sufficiently evident that Paschal and Cam- 
pulus now attempted to justify what they could not 
conceal, by imputing atrocious vices to him whom 
they had attempted to destroy. The artifice was 
too apparent, and their own crime too glaring, for 
Charlemagne to give any credit to the charge, how- 
ever boldly made, while it was unsupported by bet- 
ter evidence than their individual assertion. 

Justice, nevertheless, required that examination 
and punishment should follow such accusations and 
such violence ; and consequently, after entertaining 
the Roman prelate for some time at his court, Charle- 
magne sent him back to Rome, accompanied by nine 
commissioners,* chosen from the highest and most 
incorruptible nobles of France, both clerical and secu- 
lar, with orders to re-establish him in the apostolic 
chair ; but, at the same time, to collect and investi- 
gate all the charges against him. The monarch's 
promise was likewise given to visit Italy himself, 
and to judge between Leo and his accusers. With- 
out any historical grounds for such a conjecture, a 
suspicion has been raised, and magnified into an 
assertion, that Charlemagne, in giving that promise, 
aimed at the assumption of the imperial dignity.f 

The same populace which had fled terrified from 
the side of the pope when attacked by the conspira- 
tors received him with joy and acclamations on his 
return ; while the presence of the Frankish commis- 
sioners, and the support of a Frankish army, gave 
dignity and security to the resumption of the pon- 
tifical office.J The counts, bishops, and archbishops 

* Anastasius. 

t " Mais on soupconna qu'un motif plus personnel a Charlemagne, pins 
important pour lui, que la querelle du pape avec les neveux de son prtd6- 
pesseur, attiroit ce conqucrant en Italie ; et l'evenernent persuada qu'on 
ne s'etoit pas trompe." I have sought in vain for the slightest suspicion 
pf the kind in the older historians, either of France or Italy. 

£ Eguihard, Annates, Anastasius. 

Gg3 



354 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

who had followed the prelate from France immedi- 
ately proceeded to exercise the functions with which 
Charlemagne had invested them, by inquiring mi- 
nutely into the assault that had been committed on 
the person of Leo himself, and by examining the 
charges which his enemies brought against him. 
What was the nature of the evidence given on this 
occasion does not appear; but the investigation 
ended by the arrest of Campulus, Paschal, and sev- 
eral other Romans, who were instantly despatched 
as prisoners* to France, to wait the promised jour- 
ney of the monarch himself. By the various emergen- 
cies of state mentioned in the preceding book, that 
journey was delayed till late in the year 800 ; when 
at length Charlemagne, having convoked the genera, 
assembly of the nation, and announced the reasons 
which impelled him once more to journey into Italy, 
took his departure from Mayence, and, accompanied 
by an army,f marched on to Ravenna. 

Various motives, besides the decision of the great 
cause between Leo and his enemies, combined to 
lead the monarch into Italy ; and among these, one 
of the principal inducements was the desire of put- 
ting a termination to the war which had so long con- 
tinued between his son Pepin and the young Duke 
of Beneventum. In this Charlemagne had hitherto 
taken no part, except by affording occasional advice 
and assistance to his son; but now, although he 
seems still to have determined upon refraining from 
personal hostilities, he came prepared to render 
more effectual support to Pepin than that prince had 
hitherto received.^ 

Nevertheless, it is evident that the attention of 
Charlemagne was principally directed towards the 
re-organization of the deranged government of 
Rome. It cannot be doubted, indeed, that the de- 
fence and support of the Roman church was always 

* Chron. Moissiac ; Anastasius, in Vit. Leon. III. 
t Eginhard, Annates. % Ibid- 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 355 

an object of great* — perhaps too great — considera- 
tion with that monarch. But it must be remem- 
bered, at the same time, that in his days that 
church held out the only means within his reach of 
spreading the mild doctrines of Christianity, and 
thus afforded the only sure basis for civilization and 
improvement. 

To guard and to maintain it, therefore, was one 
of the principal endeavours of his life ; and, on the 
present occasion he did not show any relaxation of 
zeal in its defence. As soon as he had made all the 
necessary arrangements with his son Pepin, whom 
he sent at the head of the army he had brought from 
France to carry on the war against I3eneventum,f 
the monarch of the Franks quitted Ancona, to which 
place he had advanced, and then proceeded towards 
Rome. At Lamentana he was met by Leo, who 
was still received and treated with such marks of 
favour as showed no bad impression of his conduct ; 
and on entering Rome the next day the monarch of 
the Franks met with the same enthusiastic recep- 
tion which had welcomed him on his first visit to 
the eternal city.| 

After a repose of seven days, Charlemagne pro- 
ceeded to the task which had brought him to Rome, 
and made every perquisition, we are told, in order 
to ascertain the truth or falsehood of the accusa- 
tions which had been levelled at the pope. Every 
authority agrees in stating that these could not be 
m the slightest degree substantiated ; but, at the 
same time, it is but fit to remark, that all the accounts 
which have reached us received their origin from 
either the adherents of the person who was acquitted, 
or of the judge who pronounced sentence in his 
favour. No reason, however, exists for supposing 
that the decision of Charlemagne was prejudiced 

* Vit. Caroli Magni ; Eginhard, Script. 

t Annates Eginnardi; Aun. Tiliani; Ann. Loiseliani. 

i Eginhard, Annates. 



356 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

or unjust. Nor did he solely rely upon his own 
judgment in a matter where, though he might feel 
sure of the equity of his intentions, he might doubt 
the impartiality of his affections. A synod,* com- 
prising all the higher clergy of Rome, was called ; 
the evidence which had been procured was laid be- 
fore it ; and the members of which it was composed 
were directed to pronounce between the head of 
their order and two of the most distinguished mem- 
bers of their own body. 

Charlemagne, unbiased by the shrewd policy of 
ecclesiastical interests, sat as sovereign and judge 
to try the pontiff. He acted as the ruler that he 
felt himself to be ; he used the authority he knew 
that he possessed ; and only considered his capa- 
bility of deciding justly, without looking into the 
remote consequences of the proceeding in which he 
was engaged. 

Not so the ecclesiastics whom he called to his 
aid. Each individual was a member of that mystic 
and indivisible whole — the Church of Rome, which, 
in the perpetuity of its own nature, communicated 
to all its parts that prescience and devotion to future 
interests that no temporal and transitory dynasty 
has ever been able to inculcate or enforce. To the 
synod, therefore, from whose wisdom and impar- 
tiality Charlemagne expected a verdict, the pre- 
cedent of such a tribunal appeared most dangerous, 
especially while a lay monarch assumed to himself 
the privilege of presiding at its deliberations. To 
sanction it by any recorded sentence was painful to 
each of the members, while to oppose the will of 
the patrician, or to expose the motives which ren- 
dered the measure obnoxious, were equally impos- 
sible. One of those happy stratagems which have 
so often blessed the policy of the Vatican, and which 

* Chron. Moissiacenses ; Anastasias, in Vit. Leonis III. ; Ann. Egin* 
iiard. 






HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 357 

was doubtless concerted between the chief pontiff 
and his prelates, delivered the assembly from the 
difficulty under which they laboured. 

No one appeared to accuse the pope, and each of 
the ecclesiastics declared his private opinion of his 
innocence ; but, without at all impugning the right 
of Charlemagne to sit in judgment on the supreme 
pontiff, the assembled prelates* severally declared 
that they could not, according to any of the rules of 
ecclesiastical discipline, pass sentence, whether of 
condemnation or acquittal, upon their general supe- 
rior. In this dilemma, Leo himself proposed, that, 
according to a custom frequently resorted to under 
peculiar circumstances, he should purge himself, by 
a solemn oath, of the crimes of which he had been 
accused ; and, mounting the pulpit of the church of 
St. Peter, he took the Book of Life in his hand, and, 
with the most awful asseveration which can pass 
the lips of a Christian, declared, in the face of the 
assembled congregation, his perfect innocence of 
the charges which had been brought against him.f 

* Anastasius, in Vit. Leonis III. 

t li> id. ; Chron. Moissiac. ; Eginhard, Annates; Ann. Tiliani; Ann. 
Loisciiani. 

The French historian of Charlemagne declares, that the pope added to 
his oath of purification the following words : — "Je fais ce serment sans 
y elre oblige, par aucun loi ; et sans vouloiren faire une comume ou une 
loi pour mes successeurs, mais seulement pour dissiper plus pleinement 
d'injustes soupcons." The fact is, the pope never said any thing the 
least like it ; though, beyond all doubt, he would very willingly ha/w so 
guarded his proceeding, had he dared. The simple words, as given by 
Anastasius, the fullest and the most partial narrator of the occurrence, are 
as follows : — " Quia de istis falsis criminibus, qua super me imposue- 
runt Romani, qui iniqut me persecuti sunt, scientiam non habeo; nee 
talia egisse me cognosco." Such are the expressions as attributed to the 
pope by one who would have said any thing credible to diminish the 
apparent power exercised by Charlemagne over the holy see. Such is 
the speech of the pope, without one word more, as given by the writer 
whom M. Gaillard cites as his authority ; and, so far from the pope hav- 
ing declared that he was not following any established law or custom 
when he first proposed to take the oath, he said,— " PrcBdecessontm 
me.orum pontijicum vestigia sequor."—(Ai)astas. in Vit. Leo III.) The 
Chronicle of Moissiac is the only record which mentions that Leo was 
not obliged to take the oath, by a judicial sentence ; but it never puts the 
words in the mouth of the pontiff. 






858 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

Joy and festivity succeeded this termination of the 
trial ; and the judgment to be passed on the assassins 
who had attempted the murder or mutilation of the 
pope was reserved for an after period. 

A great epoch in the history of Europe was now 
approaching. We have seen that the Roman people, 
with their efforts directed and concentrated by their 
bishops, had cast off the authority of the Eastern 
empire on account of the inconoclastic heresy. 
They had not rendered their separation irreparable 
by electing a new Emperor of the West ; but they 
had resumed some of the forms of the republic, and 
had named for themselves a patrician, who exercised 
in Rome the imperial power, without possessing the 
imperial name. That patrician had conquered for 
himself the kingdom of Lombardy, had claimed and 
received homage from Beneventum, had recovered 
a great part of the territories of ancient Rome in 
the West, and had acquired a vast extent of country 
that the empire, in her best days, had never been 
able to subdue. He had the power and the will to 
protect his subjects more than any other monarch 
in Europe ; and he already possessed and exercised 
a degree of authority which no title could render 
greater. 

At the same time, though the heresy of the East, 
which had caused the separation, was done away, 
the holy images restored to their places, and in- 
temperate zeal displayed jn their defence ; yet the 
Patriarch of Constantinople was a dangerous rival 
to the pontiff of Rome ; and the government of the 
emperors withheld from the pope many a rich dio- 
cess,* and a profitable territory. f The impotence 
of the court of Constantinople, either to defend or 
maintain the empire of the West, had been strik- 
ingly displayed in its contests with the barbarians, 

* The contested territory comprised Calabria, Sicily, Apulia, the 
Lavaro, <fec. 
' t Epist. Hadriani. See Gianone, Pagi, &c. Ami. 730. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 859 

nnd its struggles with the popes ; and the natural 
predilection of the Byzantine monarchs for their 
eastern provinces had already proved the ruin and 
debasement of Italy. 

To return, therefore, under the dominion of the 
East could never be contemplated either by the 
Romans or their pontiffs, while to render their sepa- 
ration eternal, by the election of a new Emperor of 
the West, showed a prospect of many advantages* 
both direct and collateral. The orthodoxy of the 
French monarch, indeed, was more than doubtful in 
the eyes of the Ronjan church ; but though his 
scribes had been zealous in their condemnation of 
the iconoclasts, even to ribaldry, the king himself 
had preserved a more temperate demeanour, and had 
bowed himself to the ancient proverb of following at 
Rome the usages of Rome. A thousand personal 
motives, also, conduced to close the eyes of the 
pope towards the heretical doctrines which had been 
honoured by the name of Charlemagne. Gratitude 
for immense benefits conferred, and the prospect of 
rewards to follow, might act as a strong inducement 
in determining the restoration of the Western em- 
pire, and the election of Charlemagne. But there 
might be other and more powerful causes still, which 
operated in the mind of the pontiff to produce the 
same resolution. The general vassals of an emperor 
bore a much higher rank than the vassals of a foreign 
king. Italy, so long a dependent province, would 
at once take the first place, rise up from the ashes 
of four centuries, and soar again into, the blaze of 
empire ; while the pontiff, whom a king had pre- 
sumed to judge, would shake off the degradation of 
his submission, by rewarding his protector with an 
imperial crown. The distant prospect of future 
claims and encroachments, to be founded on that 
gift, might present itself vaguely to the eye of sa^ 
cerdotal policy; and a basis for entire territorial 
independence and immense ecclesiastical dominion/ 






360 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

might perhaps be seen by the pontiff, in his creation 
of an emperor, and nomination to dominion. 

Such were probably the motives of Leo for the 
revival of the empire of the West in the person of 
Charlemagne. The motives of the French monarch 
for accepting it were as clear, but were not quite so 
unmixed with difficulties. The jealous enmity which 
must naturally arise in the bosoms of the Greek 
emperors would necessarily require opposition, 
either by arms or negotiations, at a moment when, 
surrounded on every side by enemies, all the ener- 
gies of his own vast mind scarcely sufficed to meet 
the many dangers by which he was assailed. Nor 
could Charlemagne feel quite sure that the Franks 
would cordially accede to his deriving a higher title, 
and more unlimited authority, from another nation, 
than that which they conceded to their kings. All 
these matters required time for consideration ; and, 
even when his resolution was fixed, time for prepa- 
ration also. It is probable, that shortly after his 
arrival in Italy, he received an intimation of the 
pope's intention to revive the empire of the East, 
and of the determination which had been formed, to 
elect him to the high station thus created ; and it is 
probable also that he signified his disapprobation of 
the proposal in such terms as were intended not to 
crush the design, but to delay the execution. 

The pope, however, impelled by much stronger 
motives, and withheld by no difficulties, having 
obtained the consent of the Roman people, and pre 
pared all things for his purpose, determined not to 
lose the opportunity, or to suffer delay to bring forth 
obstacles to a transaction so advantageous to him- 
self.* It is not unlikely that some rumour of the 

* The whole of the proceedings which took place prior to the election 
of Charlemagne are very nearly matters of conjecture. The only authority 
we have Upon the subject is Eginhard, who states that the monarch was 
known to declare, that if he had suspected the intention of the pontiff, 
on the day in which he was saluted emperor, he would not have entered 
the church of St. Peter.- To suppose th s <leclas»«wn a piece of useless 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE 361 

preparations made by the pontiff might reach the 
ears of the French monarch, but that, always sup- 
posing he would be consulted before the ceremony 
actually took place, he felt sure of being able to delay 
it till such time as he himself had used every neces- 
sary precaution. 

However that may be, on Christmas-day Charle- 
magne, with the rest of the Catholic world, pre- 
sented himself in the church of St. Peter, to offer up 
his prayers with the multitude to the Giver of all 
dignities and debasements, the Ruler of kings and 
peasants. At the request of the pope, and to gratify 
the Roman people, he had laid aside the national 
dress w r hich he usually wore on days of solemnity, 
and which consisted of a close tunic embroidered 
with gold, sandals laced with gold and studded with 
jewels,* a mantle clasped with a golden agraffe, and 
a diadem shining with precious stones. He now 
appeared in the long robe of the patrician, and, as 
military governor of Rome, presented himself to the 

hypocrisy, which could produce neither honour nor benefit to any one, 
is so absolutely opposed to the whole life and character of Charlemagne, 
that such a suspicion deserves not to be entertained for a moment. 
Three or four arguments have been put forth to prove that the French 
monarch was aware of the ceremony about to take place. These are,— 
that he had his whole family with him— that he was dressed in the patri- 
cian tunic, and not in the Frankish dress— and that he had valuable 
presents ready to bestow upon the church. The first of these assertions 
is historically incorrect. Charlemagne had not all his family with him. 
Louis King of Aquitaine remained in France (see his Life, by the astron- 
omer) ; and Pepin King of Italy, in the end of November, had been sent 
against the Beneventines, from which expedition it is scarcely possible 
that he could have returned. In regard to the daughters of the monarch, 
we are informed by Eginhard that they accompanied him in all his jour- 
neys ; therefore their presence proves nothing. The dress of the patri- 
cian Charlemagne had worn before, in the time of Adrian, when no such 
ceremony was contemplated ; and therefore his having appeared in it 
on the present occasion is of no consequence here. In regard to the 
valuable presents given to the church, Charlemagne never visited Rome 
without doing the same, though not to the same extent; for it was 
never in his power to offer such costly gifts before the capture of the 
Hunnish treasures. It must be observed, also, that the usual time of 
presenting such offerings was on Christmas-day, as on the present occa- 
sion, or at Easter. 
* Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magni. 

Hh 



362 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

people as a Roman. The church was filled with 
the nobility of Italy and France ; and all that they 
saw around, after they entered its vast walls, must 
have told them that some great ceremony was about 
to take place. At the high altar stood the head 
of the Christian church, surrounded by all the 
splendid clergy of Italy ; and the monarch, approach- 
ing, knelt on the steps of the altar, and for some 
moments continued to offer up his prayers. As he 
was about to rise,* Leo advanced, and, raising an 
imperial crown, he placed it suddenly on the brows 
of the monarch, while the imperial salutations burst 
in thunder from the people, — " Long life and victory 
to Charles Augustus, crowned by God great and 
pacific Emperor of the Romans!" 

Whether the extraordinary preparations which 
he must have seen in the church had given Charle- 
magne any suspicion of the intentions of the pope, 
or whether the conduct of the pontiff really took 
him by surprise, must ever be a matter of doubt. 
At all events, the only alternative now left him was 
either to refuse the dignity for ever or to accept it 
at once ; and though, in all probability, he would 
wiMingly have delayed the expression of his deter- 
mination, he acquiesced in the proceeding of the 
pope when the ceremony had commenced. During 
the different intervals of the religious forms appro- 
priate to the day, the supreme pontiff administered 
the oath which confirmed Charlemagne's accept- 
ance! of tne title put upon him, anointed himj from 

* Eginhard, Ann. ; Ann. Tiliani ; Ann. Loiseliani ; Paulus Diaconus, 
de Gest. Langobard. Supp. ; Anastasius Biblioth. 

f Sigonius. 

X Anastasius and Flodoardus both declare, that the son of Charle- 
magne was anointed with him by Leo III. ; but they do not make any 
mention of which prince it was who participated in the ceremony of his 
father's unction. Monsieur Gaillard says it was Charles, the eldest, and 
thence derives the custom of electing the King of the Romans from the 
imperial family. The Memoirs of the Academie agree in this opinion, 
and the supposition is very probably correct. To do all justice to an 
author whose errors in regard to historical facts, and partiality in deduc- 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 363 

the head to the feet, in the manner practised on the 
coronation* of the Jewish kings, and adoredf him 
according to the forms employed towards the Cesars. 
From that hour the titles both of king and of patri- 
cian were laid aside ; and the monarch of the Franks 
became the Emperor of the Romans. Thencefor- 
ward his coins were inscribed with his new dig- 
nity, and his acts were dated from the years of his 
empire. 

Magnificent presents, tables of silver, vases and 
chalices of pure gold, crowns and patenae enriched 
with gems, expressed the gratitude of the monarch 
for the zeal, if not for the service, of the pope ; and 
though Charlemagne declared that he would not 
have visited the church that day if he had antici- 
pated the event, he showed no anger at the officious- 
ness of the prelate. J 

Shortly after his coronation, Charlemagne pro- 
ceeded to the trial of the conspirators, whose brutal 
assault upon the sacred person of the supreme pon- 
tiff had been one of the principal causes of his jour- 
ney to Rome. The accusations against the prelate, 
under cover of which they had attempted to shelter 
their own crime, remained, as I have before said, 
totally unproved, while the facts against themselves 
were susceptible of no evasion. Their trial was 
carried on in Rome according to the Roman law.§ 

tioris, 1 have too often had reason to notice, it is but right to say that I 
find M. Gaillard far more accurate on the subject of the revival of the 
Western empire than in any other part of his history. He is evidently 
mistaken, however, in attributing to Leo III. the desire of hurrying 
Charlemagne into a warfare with the Greek empire, as it is proved that 
the pope endeavoured, in every way, to promote the union of Charlemagne 
and Irene. 

* Theophanes ; Constant. Manasses, versio latin. Meursii ; Anasta- 
sius. 

t Eginhard, Annales, and all the other Annals. 

i Eginhard does not say that " Charlemagne en se voyant couronner, 
montra une surprise melee de colere," as M. Gaillard declares he does. 
At least, in no manuscript or printed copy which I have consulted do I 
find the slightest trace of such an assertion. 

$ Annales Til iani ; Eginhardi Annales ; Ann. Loiseliani. 



364 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

Nothing was brought forward to palliate their of- 
fence, or to cast a doubt upon the charge ; and, re- 
proaching each other* publicly for their mutual crime 
and common danger, they were silent in reply to the 
accusation and the evidence against them. 

Their guilt being established beyond doubt, their 
condemnation followed ; and the severest sentence 
of the law was pronounced against them by the em- 
peror. But the object of their hatred and their vio- 
lence became their intercessor with the monarch, 
and, by obtaining the pardon they little deserved, 
did more to prove his own innocence and their 
calumny than had been done by the synod of the 
prelates or the oath at the cathedral. Their lives 
were spared to the earnest prayer of Leo. Neither 
did they suffer that horrible infliction which they 
had attempted to execute upon the pontiff — the 
deprivation of sight, which was then a common pun- 
ishment for criminals less guilty than themselves. 
Charlemagne, however, wisely removed them from 
the scene of their crime and their intrigues ; and, 
by banishing them for ever,f at once relieved the 
pope from their presence, and assigned them a de- 
gree of punishment, though most inadequate to their 
offence. 

In the disposition and arrangement of the affairs 
of Italy the emperor passed the whole of the spring; 
and during his stay on this occasion, as well as on 
every former visit to Rome, he exercised an acknow- 
ledged power in ecclesiastical matters,^ which might 
have rendered the after claims of the clergy ridicu- 
lous, had they not been too successful. The con- 
clusion of the war with Beneventum also occupied 
the monarch's attention ; and, although he still re- 
frained from mingling with it in person, the uncer- 
tain nature of his political relations with Constant!- 

* Anastasius Biblioth. in Vit. Leon is III. 

t The place of their exile, we are told by Anastasius, was France. 

j Eginnard, Annates, A. D. 801. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 365 

Xiople made him far more anxious than he had ever 
hitherto been to conclude all domestic dissensions 
within the limits of Italy. The resistance, however, 
of Grimwald was obstinate, and often successful. 
Educated for some time under the eye of Charle- 
magne, his military talents had received a high 
degree of cultivation, while his bold and active dis- 
/ position rendered him a dangerous rival for the 
young King of Italy. The war was thus protracted 
for many years ; and the rapidity of the Beneventine 
prince often obtained for him considerable advan- 
tages over the superior strength of his adversary. 
These advantages he never used to a base or un- 
worthy purpose ; and though he resisted firmly the 
exactions of his benefactor's son, — exactions which, 
we have some reason to imagine, were severe in 
themselves, and haughtily supported, — yet, in mili- 
tary skill and generosity of demeanour, Grimwald 
approved himself a worthy follower of Charlemagne. 

The greatest success he obtained during the whole 
course of his struggles against Pepin took place in 
802, shortly after the emperor's last visit to Italy. 
Winegisus Duke of Spoleto, who seems to have been 
intrusted by Pepin, at that period, with the chief 
command against the Beneventines, having captured 
and taken possession of Lucera, suddenly found him- 
self invested in that city by the forces of Grimwald.* 
Already weakened by disease, the Frankish com- 
mander was not equal to the task of resisting the 
young and active Beneventine ; and after a brief but 
severe siege the town surrendered, and Winegisus 
fell into the hands of the enemy. 

The fate awaiting a prisoner was in those days a 
very uncertain matter; but the conduct of Grim- 
wald to his fallen adversary was such as might have 
been expected from a prince who had followed for a 
length of time the camp of Charlemagne. The 

* Annates Loiseliani ; Eginhardi Annales. 

Hh2 



366 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

Duke of Spoleto was received with kindness ; and, 
after having been entertained with honour during the 
winter, was set at liberty by his conqueror early in 
the following year. Very little of any interest or 
importance occurred afterward in the war of Bene- 
ventum. The resistance of Grimwald and the de- 
mands of Pepin still continued, till, in the year 806, 
the death* of the Lombard prince made a change in 
the government of the province ; and,f shortly after, 
the Beneventines agreed to pay an annual tribute of 
twenty-five thousand solidi of gold,J which put a 
termination to the war. 

The prolongation of this struggle, however, weak- 
ened the forces of the young King of Italy by divi- 
sion, and prevented him from accomplishing many 
things which were necessary to the consolidation 
of the dominions intrusted to him by his father. 
On a minor scale, his contest with surrounding 
enemies resembled that which had occupied the 
whole life of the great monarch himself ; and, contin- 
ually opposed by the Venetians and the Beneventines 
in Italy, as well as frequently assailed by the Moors 
and by the Greeks from without, he showed courage, 
firmness, and activity, which justified the blood of 
Charlemagne. 

Corsica, which had been bestowed by the emperor 
on the holy see,§ Pepin defended vigorously from 
the attacks of the Saracens; and, taught by his 
father's exertions on the coasts of France and Ger- 
many, he collected a navy round the Italian shores, 
which, under the command of the Constable Bur- 
chard, signally defeated the Moorish fleet|| in the 
Mediterranean. 

* Erchempertus, Hist. Langobard. Benevent. ; Ann. Lambeciani. 

t In 812, after the death of Pepin himself. It is to be remarked, that 
Grimwald, the son of Arichis, was succeeded by another prince of th» 
same name. 

J Eginhardi Annates. 

§ Epist. Leon. Papa? ad Car. Mag. ; D. Bouquet, torn. v. p. 599. 

J] Eginhard, Annales. \ 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 367 

Thus far the wars of Pepin were, in a manner, 
distinct and separate from the general progress of 
the empire of Charlemagne, and might properly be 
noticed apart ; but the strife which took place be- 
tween the young monarch and the Venetian republic, 
of which I shall soon have to speak more fully, is 
intimately connected with the revival of the Western 
empire, in the person of his father. 

As king of Lombardy and patrician of Rome, the 
Frankish monarch had claimed all that portion of 
Italy which had been comprised in the dominion of 
the Lombard kings and the exarchs of Ravenna ; but, 
as the emperor of the Romans, his wishes or his 
rights might extend his title to the whole of Italy, 
and comprehend, beyond the absolute limits of the 
peninsula, Sicily on the one side, with Croatia, 
Liburnia, and Dalmatia on the other. 

But in assuming the title of emperor, Charlemagne 
had little desire to plunge himself in new wars ; and 
if he ever did entertain the idea of invading Sicily, 
as Theophanes declares, he soon abandoned a pro- 
ject which, however successful, must have required 
blood, trouble, and fatigue, at a moment when his 
time and his forces were already fully employed. 

An easy mode of reconciling the jarring interests 
of the East and the West was suggested to Charle- 
magne, either by his own political foresight, or by 
the officious zeal of the Roman pontiff. The ruler 
of the Eastern empire, and the actual possessor of the 
disputed territories, was a woman, and a widow. 
Charlemagne himself, by the death of Luidgarde, 
had been left free to contract a new alliance ; and 
the extinction of opposing claims, by the union of 
the opposite claimants, was soon agitated in the 
councils of the emperor. That the mutilator of her 
own son might, on occasion, easily become the 
assassin of her husband, was a consideration which 
did not deter Charlemagne from the proposed alli- 
ance ; and the fact of his having demanded the hand 



368 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

of Irene in marriage, is perhaps the strongest instance 
on record of the personal courage for which he was 
famous.* 

Either before, or immediately after, his departure 
from Italy, messengers were sent to the courtf of 
Constantinople from Charlemagne, accompanied by 
legates from the pope, both charged with the formal 
annunciation of the revival of the Western empire, 
and with the more delicate commission of negotiating 
the union of the emperor and empress. 

The proposal was by no means disagreeable to 
Irene, who saw before her the prospect of termi- 
nating easily, by some method, those difficulties to 
which the occupation of the Western throne had 
given rise. It is not improbable, indeed, that she 
looked upon this alliance, also, as a means of grati- 
fying, not only her vanity, but also her revenge upon 
those who had assailed or injured her. The power 
of the East, strengthened by the power of the West, 
might have conquered or overawed a world ; and the 
young blood of the adolescent Franks, transfused 
into the veins of the ancient empire, might have 
given new vigour to the feeble frame of that decrepit 
monarchy, and raised it up once more to glory and 
to triumph. 

But whatever were the considerations which led 
the empress to desire the alliance proposed, — pas- 
sion, vanity, policy, or ambition, — her inclinations 
were controlled by a domestic faction ; and the 

* Although Trene was certainly not the most secure wife that Charle- 
magne could have taken to his bosom, inasmuch as she had given very 
convincing proofs of her unscrupulous disregard of persons and of ties, 
and as those who escape the sword often fall by the dagger, yet she had 
not accumulated all the crimes of which she has been accused. " Irene 
avoit fait perir trois empereurs, son beaupere, son mari, et son fits!" 
Monsieur Gaillard declares. But he is rather too liberal of crimes in 
favour of the empress. Constantine Copronymus was not one of Irene's 
victims. Leo, her husband, had been dying for years before nature ter- 
minated his short and inactive career : and though the ambition of the 
empress deprived her son of sight, and shortened his reign, her crime did 
not extend to the curtailing of his days. 

tTheophanes. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 369 

eunuch Aetius,* who had been raised by her to the 
highest stations of the empire, dared to oppose the 
will of his mistress. Supported by others equally 
indebted and ungrateful with himself, he compelled 
her to reject the hand of the monarch of the Franks, 
in the hopes of raising his brother to the imperial 
dignity, from which he was himself excluded by 
corporeal disabilities. The rejection, however, was 
accompanied by pacific proposals ; and, in 802, an 
embassy reached the court of Charlemagne,f — who 
had by this time returned to France, — in order to 
treat for a definitive arrangement of the claims of 
the two empires, and to determine the articles of a 
future peace. 

Where such immense interests and extensive 
territories were involved, the negotiation, of course, 
offered many difficulties. However powerless might 
be Irene to enforce her claims, however moderate 
might be Charlemagne in his exactions, there were 
points to be considered, and obstacles to be removed, 
which required many conferences ; and more than 
one doubt might naturally arise, which could only 
be solved by the court of Constantinople. 

Desirous that the transaction might be concluded 
with as much facility and speed as possible, the 
emperor committed the ultimate terms to which he 
would consent to Jesse J Bishop of Amiens, and 
Helingaud, one of the counts of his palace, who 
accompanied Leo, the ambassador of Irene, on his 
return to Constantinople. fy 

, * Theophanes. t Ann. Eginhardi ; Ann. Loiseliani, et alii. 

JEginhard, Ann. ; Ann. Tiliani; Ann. Loiseliani; Ann. Mettens. 

§ I have multiplied the authorities which give an account.of this em- 
bassy; because Monsieur Gaillard has founded, on the absurdities of the 
Monk of St. Gall, a long fable, in regard to these transactions, unworthy 
even of confutation. It may be as well, however, to remark once more, 
that the Monk of St. Gall, from the crowd of falsehoods which his work 
is proved to contain, is unworthy of all credit, except in two cases,— 
when his historical anecdotes are supported by other authorities of greater 
veracity, and when he speaks of the general costume and habits of ttm 
Franks, which he had opportunities of seeing daily, and which, as a con- 
temporary, he dared not misrepresent. 



370 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE: 

On their arrival in that city, the negotiations were 
renewed ; but, while still unconcluded, a revolution 
at the imperial court suddenly interrupted their 
progress. "The great treasurer Nicephorus was 
secretly invested with the purple, Irene's successor 
was introduced into the palace, and crowned at St. 
Sophia by the venal patriarch. In their first inter- 
view, she recapitulated with dignity the revolutions 
of her life, gently accused the perfidy of Nicephorus, 
insinuated that he owed his life to her unsuspecting 
clemency ; and, for the throne and treasures which 
she resigned, solicited a decent and honourable 
retreat. His avarice refused this modest compen- 
sation ; and, in her exile of the Isle of Lesbos, the 
empress earned a scanty subsistence by the labours 
of her distaff."* 

In the midst of the confusion of a sudden change 
in the dynasty, it is not improbable that the ambas- 
sadors of the Emperor of the West were insulted by 
the populace of the Grecian capital. But no sooner 
was Nicephorus firmly seated on the throne which 
he had usurped from the usurper, than he hastened 
to conclude the peace which Irene had begun, and 
to send back with the Franks envoys on his own 
part, to receive the ratification of the treaty from 
the hands of Charlemagne. f The Greek ambassa- 
dors reached the monarch at Seltz ; and the object 
of their coming was obtained without difficulty. 
The election of Charlemagne was recognised by the 
Emperor of the East ;| and his possession of Istria, 

* Gibbon. t Eginhard, Annates, ann. 803. 

% The Greek historians declare, that the emperors of Constantinople 
never yielded the name of emperor to any barbarian king. But they 
treated with Charlemagne, in regard to the limits of the Western empire; 
and must have found great difficulty in avoiding a title so intimately con- 
nected with his right to the dominions in question. Besides this pre- 
sumption of their having acknowledged him as emperor, Eginhard, in 
reference to a time when he himself acted as secretary to the monarch, 
makes use of the words,—" Imperatorem eum etBasileum appellantes," 
speaking of the manner in which he was addressed in the letters from 
the Greek emperors. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 371 

Croatia, Libnrnia,* and Dalmatiaf was confirmed, as 
well as his title to Sardinia, Corsica, and Italy, as 
far as the limits of the inferior Calabria.! Sicily 
and Naples remained in the hands of the Greeks ; 
but the territories of Venice, it would appear, were 
left unmentioned in the document of partition. 

Surrounded on every side by dominions possessed 
by Charlemagne, and forming - an integral part of that 
territory which was now distinctly allotted to him, 
it is difficult to understand how the Venetians could 
wish or hope to remain attached to the Greek empire. 
Perhaps it might be the expectation of establishing 
their own independence, between the contending 
claims of the rival monarchs, which induced that 
people to waver between both ; or perhaps it might 
merely be the vacillation of those factions which 
always arise in republics, that alternately gave pre- 
ponderance to the influence of France or Constanti- 
nople. 

Whatever was the origin of the disputes that 
followed, the minor facts are remote and obscure ; 
and even the general question has been clouded by 
the national prejudices of critics and historians. 
That Charlemagne considered the Venetians as his 
subjects is evident ; but it would seem that a strong 
party in Venice opposed that distribution of power 
which conveyed the sovereignty of their state to the 
monarch of the Franks. The chief of this faction 
was John, the doge, or duke, of the republic ; but, at 

* The treaty of peace between Charlemagne and Nicephorus has not 
been preserved, as far as I have been able to discover ; and it is only, 
therefore, from subsequent facts that the division of the empire here 
stated is inferred. Thus, in 806, we find Charlemagne regulating with 
Paul Duke of Zara, Donatus, bishop of that city, and other deputies from 
Dalmatia, the internal administration of that province. The cession of 
Dalmatia to the Latin emperor of course implied all the territories 
which were enclosed between that province and his dominions in Istria 
and Hungary ; and his undisputed possession of various parts of the 
different territories named can be proved from his diplomas, charters, 
and laws. 

t Ann. Loiseliani ; Ann. Eginhard ; Ann. Bertiniani, ann. 806. 

} Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni. 



372 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

that period, the power of the chief magistrate was 
controlled or corrected by the authority of tribunes ; 
and on the first manifestation of the leaning of the 
doge to Constantinople, in the appointment of a 
Greek to the bishopric of Olivola, one of the Vene- 
tian islands, his views were thwarted by the tribunes, 
who, heading the Frankish faction, prevailed on the 
patriarch of Grado to refuse consecration to the 
prelate-elect.* The revenge of the duke, which 
could not overtake the tribunes, fell somewhat bar- 
barously on the unhappy patriarch. In concert with 
his son, whom he had associated with himself in 
office, the Venetian chief led the fleet of the republic 
against Grado, captured the city, and precipitated 
the pontiff from the highest tower. 

This criminal action instantly raised the voice of 
the whole Christian world against the perpetrators ; 
and Paulinus, patriarch of Friuli, addressedf an 
epistle to Charlemagne, demanding justice upon the 
duke, at the hand of his sovereign. At the same 
time, Fortunatus,J said to be the nephew of the 
murdered prelate, sought refuge at the court of the 
Frankish monarch, and besought his aid against the 
assassins of his uncle. 

What were the proceedings which took place upon 
this application is a question of much doubt ; but 
the result is known. John and his son Maurice 
were deposed and banished ; and the tribunes Obe- 
lerio and Beatus were raised to the ducal dignity 
together. The power of France was now for some 
time preponderant ; and the sovereignty of the Empe- 
ror of the West appears to have been acknowledged 
by the voice of the friendly magistrates. § At his 

* Sigonius, de regno Italia, ad ann. 802. 

tEpist. Paulin. Patriarch. Forojuliens; Concil. torn, vii . 

JAnnales Mettensis, ann. 803. 

§Eginhard, Annates, ann. 806; Ann. Tiliani; Ann. Loiseliani. The 
Venetian historians deny that they ever submitted to the empire ; hut the 
tribute paid to the King of Italy, and the obedient visit of the Venetian 
leaders to the court of Charlemagne, prove their temporary subjection to 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 373 

desire, they visited his court and received his com- 
mands ; and every thing promised the tranquillity 
of the Venetian state,* and the permanence of 
Charlemagne's authority. 

The power of the monarch, however, was menaced 
from another quarter. Sigifrid, King of the Danes, 
or Normans, was now dead, and in his place had 
arisen one, whose powerful and comprehensive mind 
would in all probability have united the fierce nations 
of the north, and led them to sweep and desolate 
the south of Europe, had not Saxony been previously 
subdued. The junction of the Normans with the 
Saxons, inevitable if the latter had continued in their 
state of barbarism, would have created a force which 
Charlemagne himself could hardly have opposed. 
But at present, the German nations, if not so far 
civilized yet as to furnish a strong barrier against 
the Danish king, were so far subdued as to afford 
him no support, and Charlemagne had to contend 
with him only on his northern frontier. 

The first efforts of the French monarch were for 
peace ; and it would appear that several years passed 
before the mind of Godfrey the Dane so completely 
lost the impression of the emperor's victories over 
the Saxons, as to dream of following the example 
of their incursions upon the Frankish territory. In 



the West : while their occasional submission to the Eastern empire only 
serves to show that they changed masters without proving any thing in 
favour of their independence. See Pagi Critica, torn. hi. and Beretti, in 
Muratori, torn. x. 

*In 804 a circumstance took place which has been connected, by the 
conjectures of after writers, with the dissensions in the Venetian republic; 
but as I find no decided authority for such a connexion, 1 have omitted it 
In the text. The facts, as detailed by Eginhard and the Annals of Loisel, 
are as follows -.—Charlemagne, having heard that the blood of Christ had 
been found in Mantua, wrote to the pope to inquire into the report, — prob- 
ably with a view of putting a stop to the sort of blasphemous piety which 
already disgraced the followers of the Roman church. The pope, Egin- 
hard declares, made this an excuse for quitting Rome and visiting the 
court of the Emperor of the West. But what was the real object of his 
corning, or what was the effect of his conference with Charlemagne, is 
left in darkness. 

Ti 



374 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

the year 804, this impression was evidently still 
deeply fixed, although many bodies of his piratical 
subjects had ravaged the coast of France. In the 
great deportation of the Saxons which took place 
in that year, it would appear that some of the leaders 
had made their escape to Denmark, and the emperor 
immediately sent messengers to require that they 
should be given up. The Danish king neither abso- 
lutely conceded nor rejected the demand, but promised 
to come down to the frontiers of his own country, 
and confer with the Frankish monarch on a perma- 
nent treaty of peace between the two nations, 

Charlemagne remained at Holdenstein,* near the 
Elbe, in expectation of his arrival, and Godfrey 
advanced, with a fleet and army, as far as Schles- 
wick, in South Jutland. There, however, the remon- 
strances of his court on the danger to which, it was 
supposed, he would expose himself if he proceeded 
any farther, succeeded in inspiring him with fears 
and doubts of the French monarch ; and, pausing in 
his advance, he terminated the negotiations by 
acceding to the demands of the emperor through 
the intervention of ambassadors. f 

That these demands were conceived in the same 
spirit of moderation which was apparent in all the 
other actions of the Frankish monarch there can be 
no doubt; and indeed it would appear, that as years 
increased upon the head of Charlemagne he natu- 
rally became more desirous of that peace and quiet 
of which he had known so little during the course of 
a long life. The aspirations of ambition were grati- 
fied to the full ; the impatient energy of youth had 
passed away; the vigour of manhood, though not 
lost, was easily governed ; and that weariness of 
exertion, and desire of rest—which at the end of a 
short day may be relieved by a brief repose, but 
which towards the close of a long existence demands 

*Ann. Eginhard; Ann. Loiseliani; Arin. Tilianu 
t Ann. Tiliani. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 375 

permanent tranquillity — began to fall upon the 
hitherto indefatigable monarch of the Franks. 

By unequalled efforts against a thousand enemies, 
he had now nearly conquered peace, and he sought 
to enjoy it; but, nevertheless, no desire of ease 
could prevent him from affording aid to such of his 
allies or dependants as required the support of mili- 
tary intervention.* From the Elbe and the Danube 
to the Vistula and the Baltic extends a tract of 
country which was then occupied by various Scla- 
vonian tribes, some of which were strongly and per- 
manently attached to the Frankish monarch ; while 
others, retaining all the wild ferocity of their ori- 
ginal state, willingly seized every opportunity of 
attacking whatever country acknowledged the do- 
minion of a more civilized power. Among the 
latter were the Bohemians,! who, lying on the fron- 
tiers of Panonia and Hungary, took continual advan- 
tage of the depressed state to which long wars 
against the superior power of Charlemagne had 
reduced the Avars, and, by incessant and desolating 
incursions, gave that unhappy nation no time to 
recover vigour or to enjoy repose. The greater part 

* About this time,(a) a Saxon monarch of Northumberland sought refuge 
at the court of Charlemagne, after having been expelled from his throne 
and his country. He is called by all the French annalists Eardulp, or 
Ardulp, and also receives the same name in an epistle from Leo III. to 
Charlemagne. His history, winch is obscure, and perhaps misstated 
by the French annalists, may be found at large in the historians of the 
Anglo-Saxons ; but it appears clear that he was sent forward by the 
emperor to the pope, and by the united influence of both was restored to 
his kingdom. The intercourse of Charlemagne with this prince, how- 
ever, was so limited, and affected so little the general current of his 
reign, that I have not thought it necessary to imbody these circumstances 
in the text. The monarch of the Franks kept up, indeed, a friendly rela- 
tionship with all the British kings, and even carried on some communica- 
tion with the sovereigns of Scotland, who, if we are to believe Eginhard, 
addressed him as their lord, and called themselves his subjects and ser- 
vants. Such terms have been made use of before and since, where they 
were fully as empty, and as little intended in a literal sense.— Eginhard, 
)n Vit. Car. Mag. cap. xvi. 

t Ann. Eginhardi ; Ann. Tiliani. 

(a) Ann. Loiseliaai ; Asa. Eginhard ; Chron. Adonis. 



376 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

of the people of Hungary had by this time embraced 
the Christian religion ; and their monarch Theodore 
at length, in 805, undertook a journey to the court 
of Charlemagne, to beg that his nation might be 
allowed to abandon the country which they then 
held, and seek another* less exposed to the attacks 
of the Bohemians. 

The French monarch granted his request at once, 
and, with generous kindness, did all that he could to 
alleviate the sorrows of the Hunnish chief. Theo- 
dore, however, died soon after his return to Panonia, 
and a new chagan being elected by the Avars, the 
consent of Charlemagne was solicited to his nomi- 
nation. This was not only immediately given, but, 
before permitting the Hunnish tribes to execute their 
purpose of emigration, the emperor commanded his 
eldest son Charles to lead an army into Bohemia, 
and endeavour by chastisement to restrain the Scla- 
vonians within their own bounds. 

The will of the monarch was instantly accom- 
plished by his son, who seems to have possessed 
much of his father's military talents and rapid ac- 
tivity. Before the year was concluded, the Frankish 
forces had been led into Bohemia ; a battle had been 
fought and won ; Lecho, the Bohemian duke, had 
been slain, — it is said, by the hand of Charles him- 
self; and the prince, leading back his victorious 
troops, met his two brothers Louis and Pepin at the 
palace of the emperor near Thionville.f 

The union of his children around the emperor's 
person was not without an object. Already consid- 
erably past the age which his father and his grand- 
father had attained, Charlemagne, notwithstanding 
the great degree of corporeal vigour that he still 
enjoyed, and the robust constitution which promised 
many years of health, determined to prepare against 
the approach of death, and to provide, as much as 

* The country they demanded was inter Sabariam et Carnontum. 
f Ann. Eginhardi ; Ann. Loiseiiani ; Ami. Tiliani, A. D 805. 



HISTORY OP CHARLEMAGNE. 377 

human foresight could, against those dissensions 
among his children which had caused the difficulties 
and cares of his own early reign, which might de- 
stroy the empire he had acquired,* and sweep away 
the institutions he had founded. 

He accordingly determined to remove all future 
cause of dispute, by himself allotting, among his 
sons, the territories which they were to possess at 
his death, and by gaining the solemn and irrevocable 
consent, both of his people and his children, to the 
charter of division he was about to trace out. The 
character of Charlemagne has been assailed by some, 
his virtues depreciated, his motives misconstrued, 
his actions misstated, and his laws reproached ; but 
the enthusiasm of his people when danger menaced 
his person, their devoted zeal in seconding all his 
efforts, and the boundless confidence with which 
they adopted all his views, have left a glorious testi- 
mony in favour of his wisdom and his virtue deep- 
written on the page of history, which neither ma- 
lignity can efface nor hypothesis obscure. His 
children at once gave their consent to that distribu- 
tion of his dominions which he thought fit to pro- 
vide against the period of his death, and the gen- 
eral assembly of the nation sanctioned it without 
hesitation. The princes and the nobles swore to 
observe the partition ; and a copy of the document 
was transmitted to the head of the Christian church, 
that the authenticity of the deed might be preserved 
undoubted, by a transcript,* attested by the supreme 
pontiff himself, remaining in the archives of the 
church.f 

The division of the empire among the children of 

* Eginhard, Annales ; Ann. Mettensis ; Ann. Loiseliani ; Ann. Ber- 
tiniani. 

f A cunning political use was afterward made of this transaction by 
the Roman pontiffs : and the simple fact of a copy of the dispositions of 
the emperor, signed by Leo to ensure its authenticity, having been depos- 
ited with him, has been rendered the foundation of claims to the disposal 
•of empires and universal interference. 

Ii 2 



378 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

the monarch had been a principle admitted with 
the Franks from the earliest ages, although the 
equality of partition, and even the admission of all 
the heirs, had by no means been strictly enforced. 
If ever extent of dominion could render such a divi- 
sion necessary, it was in the case of the territory 
agglomerated by Charlemagne, which, in addition 
to the difficulty of consolidation, implied by ex- 
treme bulk, presented other inconveniences of a 
more insurmountable nature, from the composition 
of its various parts. The acquisitions of ancient 
Rome had been gradual, and in comparison slow. 
Step by step each province had in general been fully 
incorporated with the empire before other conquests 
were achieved; and but a small district added to 
the dominions of Rome was enough for the glory 
and triumph of a life. But, warring upon every 
frontier at once, Charlemagne had added to his native 
kingdom, in the short space of one man's existence, 
as much as would have cost two centuries of Roman 
conquest to acquire. No time had been given to 
blend the separate nations into one ; they remained 
still discrepant, inharmonious, and requiring the 
same great mind which had conquered and united 
them to hold them in subjection and assimilate them 
together. . 

Such considerations may have been among the 
motives which combined to reconcile Charlemagne 
to the division of the empire ; but probably the 
most powerful of all was the fact of its being 
the custom, if not the law, of his nation. A sound 
and judicious policy might, and probably would, 
have induced the monarch to abrogate that law if 
his dominions had been small ; but the extent of 
territory to be divided took from the custom its 
strongest objection, and in the act of partition itself 
we have a singular instance of the deference of the 
monarch to the privileges and institutions of his 
country. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 379 

We have already seen several examples of tho 
strong influence attributed to the popular voice in 
the election, or rather succession, of the Frankish 
monarchs. Eginhard states that the Franks were 
accustomed to choose their Icings from the Merovin- 
gian race ; and the supreme pontiff, in crowning 
Pepin, threatens with the thunders of the church 
such persons as should attempt to elect a monarch 
from any other family than the Carlovingian. Charle- 
magne, more expressly still, points at the same 
active power in the people, and declares by his will,* 
that if any of the three kings among whom he 
divides the realm shall in dying leave a son, and his 
people choose to elect that son in the place of his 
father, that portion of the empire shall descend to 
him, without claim or molestation on the part of his 
uncle s.f 

The further dispositions of the monarch are di- 
rected to keep peace and amity among his children, 
and so to provide for all cases, that no disputes may 
arise,! either between the monarchs themselves in 
regard to the territories allotted to each, or between 
them and their people in regard to the jurisdiction 
under which each individual subject is placed. 
Even while dividing his dominions, Charlemagne 
also strongly enjoins that mutual support and co- 
operation which would give to the several kingdoms 
the same strength as if still united in one empire ; 
and he points out the path by which each prince 
may lead his armies to the support of his brothers. fy 
No precaution is wanting on the part of the mon- 
arch to secure the future concord of his sons ; and, 
under the warrant of the oath which they mutually 
took to obey his will, he commands them, in case 

* Charta Divisionis Imperii, cap. v. 

t Quod si talis filius cuilibet istorum trium fratrum natus fuerit, quern 
populus eligere velit, ut patri suo succedat in regui hereditate, volumus 
ut hoc consentiant patrui ipsius pueri, et regnare permittant filium fra- 
. tris sui in portione regni, quam pater ejus eorum frater habuit. 

I Charta Divisionis, cap. x. xii. , § Ibid, cap, iii. 



380 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

of any dispute in regard to their territories, to 
abstain from arms, and to have recourse to the judg- 
ment of the cross,*- — a judgment which, like every 
other sort of ordeal, supposed the active interposi- 
tion of God to establish an earthly right. Even 
had this injunction not referred to one of the firm- 
rooted superstitions of the day, the command of 
Charlemagne would have still been wise, as, by sub- 
jecting every matter of doubt to a certain and indis- 
putable method of decision, it guarded against the 
most remote chance of those bloody contentions 
which had desolated the realm under the Merovin- 
gian kings. Had he directed them to draw lots, the 
same purpose would have been answered ; but, in the 
mode of judgment to which he now commanded them 
to apply, the religious feelings of the people, and 
even of the princes themselves, operated in support 
of the award.f 

Such was the charter of division conceived by 
Charlemagne ; and certainly the clearness of his 
judgment and the benignity of his heart were never 
more fully displayed than in that document. It 
was destined, it is true, to have no effect ; but it 
remains a striking proof of the power which a 
great mind has to employ the very prejudices and 
superstitions of his age for the best and noblest of 
purposes. 

Soon after the deed had been received and ratified 
by all whose interests were implicated, the three 

* Charta Divisionis, cap. xv. Tn regard to the judgment of the cross, 
all that we know is, that it was some kind of ordeal, the only superiority 
of which to drawing lots was the reference to religion. No clear expla- 
nation of the ceremony has been given. See Ducange Gloss, at Judicium 
Cruris, p. 1185. 

t It is but right to state, that a doubt has been thrown upon the 
authenticity of this charter ; but, at the same time, it must be remarked, 
that the division here mentioned, and several of the particulars attending 
it, are marked by all the contemporary annalists, and that both Balu- 
zius and the Benedictine editors have asserted the fact of the manuscript 
being genuine, bringing forward arguments against the supposition of 
M. Pithou, who doubted it, which have generally been admitted as unan-! 
swerable. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 381 

princes quitted the court of their father, and betook 
themselves to the several occupations which had 
been assigned to them. 

Charles, the eldest, once more turned his steps 
towards the north, where the Bohemians, having 
been joined by another predatory tribe of Sclavo- 
nians,* were ravaging with fire and sword the fron- 
tiers of Bavaria and Hungary. The measures taken 
against them, however, were prompt and effectual. 
Charles himself led one body of troops against the 
Sclavonians on the banks of the Sale and the Elbe, 
defeated them completely, slew their chief in battle, 
and, after guarding the frontier by the construction 
of two fortresses, returned to join his father on the 
banks of the Meuse. At the same time, a triple armyf 
from Germany, Bavaria, and Hungary entered the 
country of the Bohemians, and by laying waste the 
border territory, punished their aggression on the 
Hungarian provinces, and put a stop to their future 
incursions. 

This campaign terminated the Bohemian war, and 
left the frontiers of Bavaria and Panonia in security 
and peace. But Charlemagne was still destined to 
encounter hostilities on the northern verge of his 
territories, where Godfrey King of Denmark was 
daily increasing in power and in confidence. The 
peace which had been concluded with him soon 
shared the fate of all treaties entered into with bar- 
barous nations, and was broken as soon as the 
Northman king found it convenient to ravage the 
coast of France and Germany. He still covered his 
breach of faith with some degree of decency ; and a 
renewal of individual acts of piracyj on the shores 
of Charlemagne's dominions first announced the 
frail nature of the Dane's engagements. The next 

Sigiberti Chron. 

Annates Eginhardi ; Ann. Tiliani ; Ann. Laiseliani 

Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni. 



382 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

mark of hostility, though more glaring", was not 
directed against the emperor personally, but took 
the shape of an incursion into the territories of the 
Abodrites, those faithful allies on whose vigilance 
and courage Charlemagne greatly depended for the 
security of Saxony. The northern chief did not 
undertake this enterprise, however, without the cer- 
tainty of some support ; and, in the Welatabes, the 
Winidi, and the Smaldingi,* a congregation of wild 
Sclavonic tribes inhabiting the country between the 
Oder and the Vistula, and covering the whole of 
modern Pomerania, he found willing allies against 
their more civilized neighbours. To these were 
added the Linones, on the southern bank of the 
Oder ; and instead of passing at once from Denmark 
by land into the territory of the Abodrites, which 
was probably guarded on that frontier from the anti- 
cipation of hostilities, he transported his troops into 
Wenedonia,f or Pomerania, and thence marched 
upon that point of the destined territory where his 
prey was least prepared to oppose him. 

The excursion of Godfrey was rapid and terrible. 
Attacked by so many of the Sclavonian tribes, as 
well as the Danes, the unfortunate Abodrites were 
conquered before any assistance could reach them ; 
and when Charles, despatched by his father to their 
aid, arrived with his army on the banks of the Elbe, 
he found that their duke, Thrasicon,J had been ex- 
pelled from his country,^ and that the whole land had 
been pillaged and subdued. This, it is true, was not 

* Ann. Eginhardi; Ann. Lambeciani; Ann. Loiseliani. 

t Chron. Brev. S. Dionysii, 808. 

j Several of the Frankish annals, in general the most correct, give an 
account of this expedition of Godfrey very contradictory in itself. They 
represent the invasion of the Danish king as not only rapid but unsuc- 
cessful, attended with great loss, and soon terminated by a disastrous 
retreat. Yet, at the same time, they own that he had expelled the one 
duke of the Abodrites, hanged the other, and rendered the territories of 
both tributary to himself. 

§ Eginhard, Annates. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 383 

effected by the Danes without great loss on their 
own part. The nephew of the king himself fell in 
battle — the best of their array perished ; and, in no 
condition to resist the force they knew to be ad- 
vancing against them from France, they once more 
retired into Pomerania, took ship, and set sail for 
Denmark. Apparently fearful of pursuit by sea, the 
Danish monarch, before his departure, destroyed the 
port from which he embarked, and carried away the 
merchants* into Denmark. Charles did not reach 
the scene of action till the Danesf were gone ; and 
no trace of them was left but in their ravages. The 
tribes who had aided them in their expedition, how- 
ever, still remained ; and throwing a bridge over the 
Elbe, the Franks poured into the territory of the 
inimical Sclavonians, and took severe vengeance 
for the injuries inflicted on the Abodrites.J 

In the mean time, Godfrey, warned of the prox- 
imity of the Frankish army, and remembering the 
bitter and never-failing punishment which had over- 
taken the similar irruptions of the Saxons, hastened 
to add to the means of defence which his country 
already possessed. The narrow neck of land be- 
tween the duchy of Holstein and the province of 
South Jutland offered every facility for the forma- 
tion of such a fortified boundary as he proposed to 
construct. His arrival at the port of Schlesvvick 
brought him on the very spot suitable to his purpose ; 
and he instantly began the erection of a defensible 

* This port, called Rericti, or Reric, is represented as being a place 
of great commerce, and bringing considerable revenues to Denmark. 
That it was not on the coast of that country, however, is evident. Some 
learned critics have supposed it to have been merely a sort of fair, or 
market ; but whatever the name may imply, it would appear, from the 
expressions " distructo emporio," &c, that it was a permanent establish- 
ment on the sea-coast. 

t Ann. Eginhardi ; Ann. Loiseliani. 
j i The Lambecian Annals state the facts of this expedition very differ- 
ently, and declare that the Franks were obliged to retire with great loss. 
But the great majority of the annalists give the account as it is repeatedi 
in the text. 



384 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

wall, running across the isthmus, from the estuary 
on which that town is situated to the mouth of the 
Eyder and the German ocean.* 

While this great work was in progress, the Danish 
monarch found it necessary to temporize with the 
emperor ; and accordingly, sent ambassadors to the 
court of France, in order to justify his aggression 
on the allies of the Franks ; and to demand a con- 
gress of deputies from both nations, in order to con- 
sider and determine all matters in dispute. f This 
was immediately granted ; but the negotiations pro- 
duced no effect ; and the Danish king prepared to 
renew the war against the Franks themselves. 

The multitude of his Sclavonian allies rendered 
the power of Godfrey formidable even to Charle- 
magne ; and, had the Saxons been still inclined, 
even in their state of depression, to join with the 
Normans, the whole of Europe, as I have before 
observed, would most probably have been once more 
plunged in blood and darkness. But the Saxons, 
now beginning to appreciate the benefits of civiliza- 
tion, were the first to aid in repelling the advances 
of their barbarous neighbours. Thrasicon, Duke of 
the Abodrites, was soon restored to his country ; 
and, being supported by a large Saxon force, while 
the Danish king swept over the seas and made a 
terrible descent upon the German coast, he entered^ 
the territories of that monarch's Sclavonian allies, 
and with fire and sword retaliated the injuries they 
had inflicted on his nation. 

The Frisons, also, so long the implacable enemies 
of the Franks, were now the first safeguards of their 
shores. Though, after three rapid and bloody com- 
bats with the Danes upon the German coast, they 
were at length obliged to buy the invaders' absence 

* Ann. Eginhardi. 

t Ann. Mettenses : Ann. Loiseliani, A. D. 809. 

t Eginhard, Ann; Ann. Fuldenses; Ann. Mettenses. 






HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 385 

with a hundred pounds of silver, yet the smallness 
of the sum demanded by Godfrey, and the speed of 
his retreat, evinces how steady had been the resist- 
ance of the Frisons, and how dearly purchased had 
been the victory he gained. 

His landing, however, and his persevering contest 
with the inhabitants of the coast, had spread con- 
sternation into the heart of France. He had been 
heard boldly to declare, that he would carry his 
arms to Aix-la-Chapelle ;* and that he would make 
the attempt, was universally believed. But, though 
now in his seventieth year, Charlemagne forgot the 
load of age, started from the repose in which he 
had indulged, and once more hastened to the field. 
No mark of time's enfeebling power was to be found 
in the movements of the great monarch ; and all the 
active energy of his brightest days reappeared on 
the approach of danger.f Messengers were sent in 
every direction to gather together his troops ; and, 
while land forces were assembling, he hastened, 
without loss of a moment, to inspect in person the 
state of the fleet in the mouth of the Rhine, and 
prepared to contend with the Norman on his own 
element. No sooner were his commands given, 
and the means of war in readiness in that direction, 
than, forgetful of all personal fatigue, the emperor 
hastened back to the head of his army ; crossed the 
Rhine at Lippenheim ; and, after forming his junc- 
tion with other forces, which were marching up to 
support him, advanced as far as the confluence of 
the Aller and the Weiser, in order to give battle to 
the Danes 4 

At that spot, news of a varied complexion reached 
him, which rendered his farther march unnecessary. 
Thrasicon, Duke of the Abodrites, while pursuing 
his success against the Sclavonians, had been assas- 

* Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Mag. 

t Ann. Eginuardi, ann. 810. 

X Ann. Fuldensea, Loiseliani, &c. 

Kk 



386 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

sinated by emissaries of the Danish king. But, 
at the same time, Godfrey himself had quitted in 
haste the shores of the Frisons, in order to return 
to Denmark ; and the tidings almost immediately 
followed of his own death, by the same treacherous 
steel he had used against others. He had been 
slain by one of his followers, — whether instigated 
by personal revenge or kindred ambition, does not 
appear. A more pacific sovereign, however, suc- 
ceeded. A truce was concluded between the Danes 
and Franks ;* a congress was held ; and with little 
difficulty a peace was agreed upon, which terminated 
the Norman war during the life of Charlemagne. 

In the northern campaigns, the principal active 
agent on the part of Charlemagne, had been Charles, 
his eldest son ; but, in the south, Pepin, King of Italy, 
had been in no degree unoccupied since the partition 
charter, for the purpose of acknowledging which he 
had been called to France. 

Scarcely had he returned to Italy, when he found 
that Nicephorus, now firmly seated on the throne 
of Constantinople, began to regret the concessions 
which he had made in the first dangers of usurpation, 
and to seek the recovery of those territories, which 
he had too hastily suffered to be alienated from 
the Greek empire. His first efforts were directed 
against Dalmatia, the seaports of which, command- 
ing the whole commerce of the Adriatic, were of 
infinite importance to the Greeks. In the year 806,f 
we accordingly find the patrician Nicetas, accom- 
panied by a large fleet, sailing with the express 
purpose of recovering Dalmatia. It would appear, 
that his expedition ended without any great military 
effort ; and, probably, the success of the Frankish 
armaments against the Moors, who were about the 
same time signally defeated on the coast of Corsica, 



* Vit. Car. Magn. Eginbard, Script, 
t Ann. Tiliani ; Ann. Eginnardi. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 387 

determined the Greek commander to bring the in- 
cipient war to a speedy termination. 

He accordingly hastened to conclude a fresh treaty 
of peace with the young King of Italy ; and with- 
drew his fleet from their station in the Adriatic. It 
appears not unlikely, indeed, that at this time, by 
the commands of his father, Pepin yielded to the 
Greeks the sovereignty of the Dalmatian ports, 
while the rest of that province was reserved to the 
Franks. That such a transaction* ultimately took 
place we know from the account of Eginhard ; but 
the period is left in doubt. 

The state of Venice also, about this time, is very 
obscure. The very same year in which we find the 
duke, or doge, and his coadjutor at the court of 
Charlemagne, submitting to his will as to that of 
their sovereign, we are told that Nicetas, coming 
avowedly with hostile intentions towards the domin- 
ions of the Western emperor, remained with tranquil 
security in the Venetian ports. Nevertheless, through 
all the contradictory events which now took place in 
regard to Venice, the effort is still apparent, of a 
weak state struggling to gain independence among 
the contending claims of two more powerful coun- 
tries ; and possibly it was a part of the policy of the 
Venetians to cast as much obscurity as possible on 
the degree of submission they were forced to yield 
to either empire. 

The peace concluded between Pepin and Nicetas 
was not of long continuance ; for either the emperor 
Nicephorus was dissatisfied with the terms granted, 
and hoped, by a renewal of warfare, to obtain more ; 
or some new cause of hostility immediately arose. 
The patrician withdrew his fleet from Venice in 
August of the year 807 ; and before the winter of 
the following year, another Greek armament ap- 
peared in the Adriatic. The commander Paul, pre- 

* Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magni. 






388 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

feet of Cephalonia, was still charged to negotiate with 
the King of Italy ;* but he seems to have imagined 
that some military success would prove a good pre- 
lude to the demands he might be instructed to make ; 
and, accordingly, he landed a part of his forces at 
Commachio, then garrisoned by the Franks. The 
Greeks, ever unsuccessful in their contests with the 
Franks, found fortune still unfavourable to their 
efforts; and, after suffering a shameful defeat at 
Commachio, they made all sail for the port of 
Venice. 

Peace was here once more proposed ; and it ap- 
pears that both Pepin and the Greek commander 
were desirous of obtaining it ; but such a consum- 
mation did not accord with the policy of the Vene- 
tians ; and they contrived to break off the negotia- 
tions before they were half-concluded. f Their 
treachery, however, was not long in reaching the 
ears of Pepin ; and probably this instance of duplicity 
opened his eyes to much more of the same double 
and perfidious policy. An injury is always a thou- 
sand-fold aggravated when united to the insult of 
deceit; and the King of Italy, with natural indig- 
nation, proceeded to take vengeance on the Vene- 
tians. 

Their territories were immediately attacked both 
by land and sea ; but the degree of success which 
attended the arms of Pepin has been for years a 
matter of national dispute. That he was successful 
to a certain point is proved by the French, and ad- 
mitted by the Venetians; but in determining the 
extent of his conquest, if we suppose it a little more 
than Venice will allow, and a little less than France 
exacts, we shall probably be very nearly correct. 
That he subdued all their continental possessions is 
clear; for from that day the Venetians paid some 
kind of tribute for their lands on terra firma. But it 

* Ann. Eginhardi ; Ann. Loiseliani; Ann. Mettensis. 
J Ann. Eginhardi; Ann. Mettensis. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 889 

would appear, that though he conquered most of the 
islands which composed the Venetian state, he was 
repulsed from Rialto, not so much by the courage 
of the inhabitants, as through the difficulty of access, 
and the unwieldly nature of the vessels he employed. 
Probably the sight of his partial success, and the 
menace of pursuing his advantage, induced the Ve- 
netian government to submit, when they found that 
easy terms would be imposed, in return for the 
doubtful conquest.* 

Pepin willingly desisted from an enterprise which 
had offered many difficulties, and despatched the 
fleet, for which he had no longer any occupation at 
Venice,! to ravage the coasts of Dalmatia, which 
had been resigned to the ungrateful Greeks. The 
appearance, however, of the patrician Paul, with a 
superior force, obliged the Frankish armament to 
retire ; and not long after, the Venetian states! were 

*I have endeavoured to avoid, as far as possible, the prejudices of the 
authors from whom I have derived my information, and have adopted 
such parts of the reasoning of Pagi, Beretti, and Sigonius as seemed to 
me to be supported on the best historical foundation, rejecting those hypo- 
theses into which national predilections have, more or less, betrayed each 
of those learned authors. 

I have stated, that the mainland territory of Venice remained subject 
to the kings of Italy, because I find that a tribute was paid for it, and 
because a coin was struck in the Venetian state, bearing the name of 
Louis the Debonaire (Le Blanc, page 108, No. 2). The ultimate submis- 
sion of the Venetian islands, also, seems to me more than probable, as I 
find that Eginhard, the Annals of Loisel, and the Chronicle of Ado Bishop 
of Vienne, who lived within memory of the facts, seem to establish the 
impartiality of their statement, by acknowledging honestly the flight of 
Pepin's fleet from the Prefect Paul, at the s;ime time that they claim the 
subjection of the Venetians. Besides this appearance of candour, which 
is not to be discovered in the Venetian historians, I find collateral proof 
of the subjugation of Venice, in the fact, which is distinctly marked, that 
on the conclusion of peace between Nicephorus and Charlemagne, the 
Emperor of the West restored to the Grecian monarch the territories then 
said to have been taken. 

t Eginhardi Annates. 

j Ann. Loiseliani ; Ann. Fuldenses ; Ann. Mettensis ; Chron. Sigiberti. 
The Chronicle of Ado, in regard to this transaction, implies the reverse 
of the statement of the other Annals; and the Annals of Eginhard, in 
several copies, do the same. But this is evidently an error of transcrip- 
tion, for the Chronicle of St. Denis, which gives the oldest translation 
extant of the Annals of Eginhard, renders the passage, " Nam Nicephero 

Kk2 



390 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

formally ceded by Charlemagne to the desires of the 
Eastern emperor. 

Such was the end of the struggles which the em- 
pire of the East made to recover from Charlemagne 
some portion of that territory which Nicephorus, in 
the lavish timidity of unconfirmed authority, had 
deemed a trifling sacrifice for the enjoyment of 
unmolested dominion. As he grew old in empire, 
his native covetousness resumed its power over his 
mind; but before he could proceed to exact more 
from the generous moderation of the Frankish mon- 
arch, the steel of the Bulgarians had terminated the 
life of the avaricious usurper. Stauracius, who suc- 
ceeded, devoted his short reign of six months to 
render himself hated and contemned at home ; and 
Michael I., who followed Stauracius, was too eager 
to seek the friendship of Charlemagne, either to 
impugn his title to empire, or to strive for the dis- 
memberment of his dominions. 

Those dominions were now as extensive as the 
proudest ambition could well desire to possess, or 
the mightiest genius could pretend to govern. The 
whole of France and Belgium, with their natural 
boundaries of the Alps, the Pyrenees, the ocean, the 
Mediterranean, and the Rhine, formed no inconsid- 
erable empire.* But to these possessions were 
added, to the south, all that part of Spain comprised 
between the Ebro and the Pyrenees, and to the 
north, the whole of Germany, to the banks of the 
Elbe. Italy, as far as the Lower Calabria, was 
either governed by his son or tributary to his crown ; 
and Dalmatia, Croatia, Liburnia, and Istria, with the 
exception of the maritime cities, were joined to the 



Venetiam reddidit," or "Nam Nicephorus Venetiam reddidit," by the 
words " La cite' Venise . . . rendi a l'empereour de Constantinoble." I 
liave called the Venetian leaders Obelerio and Beatus, though it is to be 
remarked that the name of the first is to be found written in a thousand 
different ways. 
* Vit. Caroli Magni ; Eginhard, Script. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 391 

conquered territories of Hungary and Bohemia. As 
far as the conflux of the Danube with the Teyss and 
the Save, the east of Europe acknowledged the 
power of the Frankish monarch. Most of the Scla- 
vonian tribes, between the Elbe and the Vistula, 
paid tribute and professed obedience ; and Corsica, 
Sardinia, and the Balearic Isles were dependent on 
the emperor's possessions in Italy and Spain. 

Such were the dominions of Charlemagne at the 
conclusion of the Venetian war in 810; and such 
were the dominions which he proposed to leave 
divided among his sons. The fatigue and difficulty 
which he felt in governing and restraining this vast 
empire himself doubtless rendered him the more 
willing to see it parted among his children, whose 
powers of command he could not but perceive were 
far inferior to his own. Yet probably paternal ten- 
derness and affectionate equity might combine with 
his other motives for the equal allotment of his 
territories; as we know that a private station, 
where all the softer sympathies of domestic life are 
fostered by every means of reciprocation, never pro- 
duced a tenderer parent than the monarch of that 
mighty empire. 

This division, as I have already stated, was des- 
tined never to take place. That prolongation of 
existence, to which human nature clings with so 
much fond tenacity, brought with it to Charlemagne 
many of those concomitant sorrows attendant ever 
on old age. He saw his friends and his children die 
around him. The companions of his dangers and 
his glory, the participators of his labours and their 
success, in general sank into the grave, ere the great 
spirit which had called forth, directed, and combined 
their efforts was separated from its human dust. 
Alcuin had died some time before ; but the severer 
stroke still awaited Charlemagne of seeing the order 
of nature reversed, and the children of his love fall 
before the parent who had given them birth. 



392 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

Hie first loss* was that of his eldest daughter 
Rotruda ; and though the irregular conduct of the 
female part of his familyf had caused him frequent 
pain and continual anxiety ,J he felt her early fate 
with all the poignancy of a father's grief, and forgot 
her weakness in her death. Scarcely had the news 
of his son's victories over the Venetians reached the 
ears of the emperor, when it was followed by the 
tidings of his decease $ and scarcely had the mon- 
arch secured to the son of Pepin the kingdom which 
he had formerly assigned to the father, ere Charles, 
for whom the imperial throne had been reserved, 
was also called to the tomb.|| Honour, and glory, 
and strife, and labour, and victory, and success, had 
not been able to extinguish one spark of those warm 
affections with which Charlemagne had been en- 
dowed by nature ; nor had a long life of prosperity, 
dominion, and absolute command been sufficient to 
weaken one of those gentler feelings, which united 
the great monarch so endearingly with his fellow- 
creatures. Charlemagne wept the loss of his children, 
and the broken ties of kindred affection,^]" with as 
bitter, as human a sorrow as if he had been the 
tenant of a cottage, instead of being the emperor of 
one-half the world ; nor can his preservation of do- 
mestic attachments surely be looked upon as a weak- 



* 8th January, A. D. 813 ; Annales Eginhardi ; Annales Loiseliani. 

t Eginhard mentions, in the most unequivocal terms., the immoral con- 
duct of the monarch's daughters, and the pain which their bad reputation 
inflicted upon him. The utmost care, however, had been taken of their 
education ; and in their youth, all their spare moments had been employed 
in learning the simplest household duties. Their father also guarded 
them with anxious care. Their meals were taken at his own table, and in 
all his journeys his children followed him, — his sons accompanying him 
on horseback, while his daughters came after, guarded by a troop of seleot 
soldiers. It is very possible, however, that the very means of precaution 
taken by the emperor might counteract his intentions ; for such journeys 
afford dangerous opportunities of intimacy, and the natural children left 
by the princesses might owe their birth to the stout warriors appointed 
to guard the mothers. 

t Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni. §7th June, A. D. 810. 

|j 4th December, A. D. 811. IF Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni, 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 393 

ness, when they interfered with no public duty, and 
served only to soften his private character. 

Of the emperor's three sons, none now remained 
but Louis, King of Aquitaine, and in him centred all 
the affection of the monarch. After the death of his 
brothers, a feeling of diffidence and modesty with- 
held him for some time from his father's court, lest 
he should appear too eagerly to covet the dominion* 
which, in the course of nature, would soon fall into 
his hands. But Charlemagne was incapable of being 
jealous of his son ; and, as soon as he had terminated 
the various negotiations which the loss of Pepin and 
Charles left entirely to his own exertions, he des- 
patched messengers into Aquitaine to call Louis to 
his presence. f 

Although the death of his two elder sons had abro- 
gated the charter of division, and though the emperor 
had provided for Bernard the son of Pepin, by con- 
firming him in the government of Italy, so that the 
succession of Louis to the imperial throne, with all 
the territories attached to it in France and Germany, 
was not to be doubted, yet Charlemagne resolved, by 
a solemn act of association, to secure the empire 
more firmly to his surviving son, and to guard 
against the intrigues of faction and the efforts of 
ambition. 

As soon after the arrival of Louis as possible, the 
emperor called the general assembly of his people to 
meet at Aix-la-Chapelle ;| and there, in an eloquent 
speech, he alluded to the probability of his own death 
before many years could pass, and exhorted the 
nation to be faithful and obedient to his successor, 
as they had been to himself. He then demanded 
the consent of each individual present to the nomi- 
nation of Louis as heir to his empire, and required 
the promise of their allegiance to that prince. The 

* Astronom. Anon, in Vit. Ludovici Pii. 

t Thegan. Vit. Ludovic. Pii ; Eginhard, Annates, ann. 813. 

JThegan. in Vit. Ludovic. 



394 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

assent of the nobles was unanimous; and on the 
Sunday that followed, the emperor marked, with 
solemn ceremony, the ratification of his own purpose 
by the voice of his subjects. 

The immense church which he himself had built 
at Aix-la-Chapelle was prepared for the occasion, 
and, a little before the morning service began, the 
monarch proceeded to that building, which was 
already filled with the nobles of all the different 
nations he united under his sway. His usual simple 
garments were laid aside, and, robed with imperial 
splendour, and surrounded by imperial pomp, he 
advanced to the high altar of the church, leaning on 
the shoulder of the King of Aquitaine. The father 
and the son knelt together, and continued for some 
time in prayer, beseeching the blessing of Heaven 
upon their designs. At length the emperor rose, 
and addressed his son in the presence of the whole 
multitude. He exhorted him, above all things, to 
fear and love God, and to follow his law ; to govern 
carefully the church, and to protect it against its 
enemies ; to show kindness and endurance towards 
all his relations ; to honour the clergy as fathers, 
and to love the people as his children ; to force the 
proud and corrupt to turn to a better path ; and to 
be himself the friend of the faithful and the poor. 
He prayed him also to choose his ministers from 
those who Avere known to be trustworthy, filled 
with the fear of God, and the enemies of unjust par- 
tiality ; to deprive no man of his property without 
full cause ; and to keep himself irreproachable in the 
sight of God and of his people. 

After having addressed him for a length of time 
with great power and eloquence, he demanded if he 
were willing to follow those precepts for the gov- 
ernment of his people ; and on Louis's reply in the 
affirmative, he directed him to raise, with his own 
hands, a crown which had been laid purposely on 
the altar, and place it on his own head, as " a gift 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 395 

which he held from God, his father, and the nation." 
Louis complied, and the ceremony ended with the 
usual solemn service of the day. 

Not long after this event the King of Aquitaine 
returned to his government,* and Charlemagne, em- 
barrassed by no hostile movements, except some 
slight disturbances among the Sclavonian tribes,f 
dedicated the rest of his days to the general organi- 
zation of his dominions, and to preparation for that 
interminable future towards whose awful barrier he 
was fast approaching. His external relations I 
have already traced; and the internal regulations 
attributable to this period of his reign afford no 
cause to alter the opinion before expressed, that if 
they were not the best which could be formed on 
abstract principles, they were the best that could 
be adapted to the circumstances of his age and 
nation. 

Notwithstanding the weight of seventy years, the 
Latin emperor had yet lost but little of his personal 
energy ; and the reconstruction of the ancient light- 
house:}; near Boulogne, the long and fatiguing jour- 
neys he took to inspect the state of the fleets des- 
tined to protect the coast, and the design of a great 
bridge at Mayence, which he proposed to build in 
stone, after the destruction of the former wooden 

* The father and son separated with many tears and mutual embraces, 
as if they felt that their parting was likely to be for ever, (a) A thousand 
sinister omens, also, had announced to a superstitious people the ap- 
proaching death of their beloved sovereign. The burning of the bridge at 
Mayence, the fall of the lightning on the church of Aix-la-Chapelle, the 
appearance of an unusually large meteor, the falling of his horse, and the 
bursting of his sword-belt, the appearance of a spot in the sun, and the 
frequent eclipses of that luminary and of ihe moon ; in fact, every thing 
Unusual was received as an augury of evil to a monarch whose worst 
omen was the expiry of his seventieth year. Many of these events were 
especially pointed out to Charlemagne himself; but the emperor had 
either the good sense to despise such prognostications, or the prudence 
to conceal his credulity, (b) 

fEginhardi Annates. 

J Eginhardi Annates ; Annates Loiseliani. 

(a) Thfgan. in Vit. Ludovfr. Pii. (fc) Eginhard, in Vit. Car. Magn. 



396 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE, 

structure* by fire, evince the incessant activity of his 
mind, and its fertility in projects for the protection 
and improvement of his dominions. 

Notwithstanding frequent attacks of the gout, and 
a degree of lameness which that disease had left, he 
still followed the chase, in which he had always 
delighted,! with unabated ardour, and still enjoyed 
the bath, wherein he had so long been accustomed 
to exercise himself in swimming.J It was one day§ 
after he had been using the thermal waters of Aix- 
la-Chapelle, that he felt the first attack of that mal- 
ady which terminated his life. He was suddenly 
seized with a violent pain in the side, which was 
soon proved to proceed from pleurisy. In common 
with all men who during a long life have possessed 
robust health, Charlemagne despised and rejected 
the aid of medicine, and, imagining that abstinence 
was the sole remedy for all sorts of sickness, he 
refused food of every kind, and only allayed his 
feverish thirst with small quantities of water. The 
violence of his disease required more active means 
of cure ; these were not employed, and at length, 
after a few days' illness, on the 28th of January, in 
the year S14, Charles the Great expired, in the 
seventy-second year of his age, and the forty- 
seventh of his reign. || 

*Vit. Car. Magni; Eginhard, Script. 

t Throughout the reign of Charlemagne, his hunting-parties are marked 
by the annalists among his victories, negotiations, and laws. Eginhard 
mentions his passion for hunting, and the Monk of St. Gall relates the 
fact of his nearly having been killed in hunting the urus, or wild bull, 
which was one of the earliest sports of the Gauls. 

| The baths of Aix-la- Chapel! e, constructed by the emperor for the 
enjoyment of this recreation, were of immense extent; and while their 
splendour and their size showed the progress of luxury, the manner in 
which they were used evinces the curious simplicity and condescension 
of the monarch. " Not only his sons," says Eginhard, " but also the 
great men of his court, his friends, and the soldiers of his guard were 
invited to partake of the enjoyment which the monarch had provided for 
himself; so that sometimes as many as a hundred persons were known 
to bathe there together." 

§Thegan. in Vit. Ludovic. Pii. 

|| He was buried on the day of his death, in the great church which he 
had constructed at Aix-la-Chapelle. The Monk of Angouleme declares 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 397 

The character of Charlemagne can alone be appre- 
ciated by comparing it with the barbarism of the 
times from which he emerged ; nor do his virtues or 
his talents acquire any fictitious grandeur from oppo- 
sition with the objects around ; for, though " the ruins 
of Palmyra derive a casual splendour from the naked- 
ness of the surrounding desert, 1 '* his excellence lay 
not alone in adorning, but in cultivating the waste. 
His military successes were prepared by the wars 
and victories both of Pepin and Charles Martel ; but 
one proof of the vast comprehensiveness of his mind 
is to be found in the immense undertakings which 
he accomplished with the same means which two 
great monarchs had employed on very inferior enter- 
prises. The dazzling rapidity with which each indi- 
vidual expedition was executed was perhaps less 
wonderful than the clear precision with which each 
was designed, and the continuous, persevering, un- 
conquerable determination wherewith each general 
plan was pursued to its close. The materials for 
his wars, — the brave, the active, and the hardy sol- 
diers, — had been formed by his father and by nature ; 
but when those troops were to be led through desert 
and unknown countries, into which Pepin had never 
dreamed of penetrating, and in an age when geogra- 
phy was hardly known — when they were to be sup- 
plied at a distance from all their resources, in a land 
where roads were unheard of, and provisions too 
scanty for the inhabitants themselves — the success 
was attributable to Charlemagne, and the honour is 
his due. His predecessors had contented themselves 
with leading an army at once against the point they 
intended to assail, or against the host they proposed 

that he was inhumed in his imperial robes, and that the pilgrim's wallet 
which he wore on his journeys to Rome was also consigned with hia 
body to the tomb. 

* Gibbon makes this observation in depreciation of the character of 
Charlemagne, forgetting or concealing that the great beauty of the French 
monarch's character appeared, not from a contrast with surrounding bar-^ 
baxism, but from bis efforts to do away that barbarism itself. 

LI 



398 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

to combat ; but Charlemagne was the first in modern 
Europe who introduced the great improvement in 
the art of war of pouring large bodies of men, by 
different roads, into the hostile country ; of teaching 
them to co-operate though separate, to concentrate 
when required, and of combining their efforts and 
their movements for a general purpose on a precon- 
certed plan. 

In a life like his, which was a life of improvement 
on all that immediately preceded him, it is wonder- 
ful that he did not meet with repeated disappoint- 
ments and disasters, from the many hazardous 
experiments he was obliged to make, and from the 
insecurity attending many of his conquests, on ac- 
count of the very rapidity with which they were 
accomplished. This will appear the more extraor- 
dinary when it is remembered that, in addition to 
the fierce savages of the north, he had to contend 
with the civilized and warlike Saracens, with the 
veteran Lombards, whose whole history was war- 
fare, and with the cunning Greeks, who supplied by 
art much that they wanted in vigour. The native 
energy, activity, and strength of the Franks, indeed, 
gave him advantages and facilities in all his strug- 
gles ; but had he not, as a leader and a king, pos- 
sessed energy, activity, and strength in a far greater 
proportion than all, the very qualities in his subjects 
which he used as implements in his own great de- 
signs would have been employed by them against 
himself; and, instead of combating and conquering 
a thousand foreign enemies at once, he would have 
had, like many who preceded him, to strive through 
life with unwilling vassals, for a precarious throne. 

War was a necessity of the time and the country ; 
and the Franks could not have been governed with- 
out war. Charlemagne, happily for himself and for 
his people, brought with him to the throne warlike 
talents, and a warlike disposition ; and, happily for 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 399 

the world, possessed likewise the spirit of civiliza- 
tion and improvement. 

Notwithstanding one instance of terrible severity, 
— which, however erroneously, he judged necessary 
to strike terror into a fierce and lawless people, and 
to stop the further desolation of both nations, — he 
was the most clement of kings, and the least selfish 
of conquerors. After his victories, he imposed a 
benefit and not a yoke, and raised instead of degraded 
the people who became his subjects. 

His great success in civilization was all his own. 
Nothing had been done by those who went before — 
scarcely a germ — scarcely a seed had been left him. 
He took possession of a kingdom torn by factions, 
surrounded by enemies, desolated by long wars, dis- 
organized by intestine strife, and as profoundly igno- 
rant as the absence of all letters could make it. By 
the continual and indefatigable exertion of mental 
and corporeal powers, such as probably were never 
united but in himself, he restored order and harmony, 
brought back internal tranquillity, secured individual 
safety, raised up sciences and arts ; and so convinced 
a barbarous nation of the excellence of his own 
ameliorating spirit, that on their consent and appro- 
bation he founded all his efforts, and sought no sup- 
port in his mighty undertaking but the love and 
confidence of his people. 

Of his many conquests, the long and persevering 
wars which he waged with the barbarians of the 
north have been, in their success, the most advan- 
tageous to Europe ; for as civilization advanced step 
by step with victory, and as he snatched from dark- 
ness all the lands he conquered, he may be said to 
have added the whole of Germany to the world. 
Italy fell into greater disorders than before ; France 
underwent another age of darkness ; but from the 
Rhine to the Elbe, and from the Danube to the ocean, 
received light which has continued unextinguished 
to the present day. 



400 HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

In domestic life, Charlemagne was too indulgent 
a father, and perhaps too indulgent a husband ; and 
the consequences of this weakness often gave him 
pain. Nevertheless, the monarch could hardly re- 
proach his daughters for passions which they inher- 
ited from himself, nor for yielding to those passions 
when he set them the example. The private vices 
or follies of any man can only become legitimate 
matter for history when they have had an effect 
upon society in general ; but it may be observed, 
without entering deeply into any unpleasant details, 
that Charlemagne scarcely could expect the morality 
he inculcated to be very strictly observed, when his 
own incontinence was great and notorious. 

This, however, is the only vice which history has 
recorded of Charlemagne, among a thousand splendid 
qualities. He was ambitious, it is true; but his 
ambition was of the noblest kind. He was generous, 
magnanimous, liberal, humane, and brave ; but he 
was frugal, simple, moderate, just, and prudent 
Though easily appeased in his enmities, his friend- 
ships were deep and permanent ; and, though hasty 
and severe to avenge his friends, he was merciful 
and placable when personally injured. 

In mind he was blessed with all those happy facili- 
ties which were necessary to success in the great 
enterprises which he undertook. His eloquence 
was strong, abundant, and clear ; and a great talent 
for acquiring foreign tongues added to his powers 
of expression. The same quickness of comprehen- 
sion rendered every other study light, though under- 
taken in the midst of a thousand varied occupations, 
and at an age to which great capabilities of acquisi- 
tion are not in general extended. 

His person was handsome and striking. His 
countenance was fine, open, and bland, his features 
high, and his eyes large and sparkling.* His figure 

* He is described by Eginhard as " apice capitis rotundo," which round- 
ness or fulness of the top of the head must have been very peculiar to 
have deserved such especial mention. 



HISTORY OF CHARLEMAGNE. 401 

was remarkable for its fine proportions ; and though 
somewhat inclined to obesity in his latter years, we 
are told, that, whether sitting or standing, there was 
always something in his appearance which breathed 
of dignity, and inspired respect. 

He was sober* and abstemious in his food, and 
simple to an extreme in his garments. Passionately 
fond of robust exercises, they formed his great re- 
laxation and amusement ; but he never neglected 
the business of the public for his private pleasure, 
nor yielded one moment to repose or enjoyment 
which could be more profitably employed. His 
activity, his quickness, and his indefatigable energy 
in conducting the affairs of state having already 
been spoken of at large, it only remains to be said, 
that in private life he was gentle, cheerful, affection- 
ate, and kind ; and that — with his dignity guarded 
by virtues, talents, and mighty renown — he frequently 
laid aside the pomp of empire, and the sternness of 
command. 

No man, perhaps, that ever lived, combined in so 
high a degree those qualities which rule men and 
direct events, with those which endear the possessor 
and attach his contemporaries. No man was ever 
more trusted and loved by his people, more respected 
and feared by other kings, more esteemed in his 
lifetime, or more regretted at his death t 

*Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni. 

fThe testimony of Eginliard may be suspected of partiality, as it was 
that of a friend and a servant ; but the love of Charlemagne's people, and 
his consciousness of deserving that love, is proved by the invariable com- 
pliance of his subjects with all his wishes, and his continual appeal to 
them on every emergency. His recorded acts bear witness to the truth 
of Eginhard's assertions, as much as Eginhard's voice bears testimony 
10 his virtues; and thus, such commendation as the following obtains 
historical value, being confirmed by the drier records of less friendly 
writers : 

" Ceterum, per omne vitae suae tempus itacum summo omnium amore 
atque favore et domi et foris cotiversatus est, ut nunquam ei vel minima 
injustae crudelitatis nota a quoquam fuisset objecta." — Eginhard, in Vit. 
Car. Mag. cap. xxi. 

And again, he says that the monarch was buried " maximo totius 
populi luctu." 

L12 



PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 



Note I. — Page 47. — Introduction. 

The battle of Vougle, which decided the empire of the whole of France, 
and which, consequently, affected the destinies of all Europe, is not 
unworthy of some comment ; and, as the held on which it was fought has 
been a matter of much dispute, I subjoin the following short extract from 
the Abbe le Beuf :— 

" Oii done placer le cclebre campus Vocladensis, dit antrement Vogla- 
densis, et Voglavensis? Dans le lieu on l'amarque Nicolas Samson, 
en sa carte de l'ancienne Gaule qui a paru en 1627, e'est-a-dire, dans les 
plaines qui sont en partie sur le Clain, tant au rivage droit qu'au rivage 
gauche, qu'en ce qui efleure le rivage gauche de la Vonne jusques vers 
Marigny, et peut-fetre meme jusques vers Cloue : mais il parolt que le 
fort du combat fut sur les bords du Clain, du cote du levant vers Bat- 
teresse ; et que les fuyards furent poursuivis entre la Clouere et le Clain, 
jusqu'a Champagne-Saint-Hilaire, ou je croirois que Clovis acheva sa 
victoire. 

" 1°. Cette position s'accorde avec le recit de Gregoire de Tours, qui 
declare nettement que ce campus Vocladensis etoit A dix mille de Poi- 
tiers; e'est-a-direun peuplus de trois lieues, entre trois et quatre lieues. 
Fredigaire l'appelle campania Voclavensis ; de sorte que par le campus 
de Gregoire, il ne faut pas entendre un terrien si limite qu'on pourroit 
le croire, mais une vaste campagne dont les commencemens peuvent 
fttre plus pres de Poitiers, et s'etendrememe entre le Clain et la Clouere, 
pourvu qu'on s'astreigne a placer les premieres attaques a trois lieues et 
demie, ou environ, de Poitiers, vers le cote du midi. 2°. La situation que 
j'assigne, se consilie parfaitement avec ce qui se lit du Monastere de S. 
Maixent, tant dans Gregoire de Tours que dans la vie du Saint Abbe. 
Les soldats de Clovis etant campes, comme je l'ai dit, le longde la Vonne, 
il ne fut pas etonnant que Pescadron le plus proche du monastere y voulut 
faire irruption. Au contraire, il eut ete surprennant qu'ils n'y eussent 
pas pense, en ttant si voisins. Je dis tout ceci, en supposant que le Mon- 
astere de S. Maixent etoit veritablement des son vivant dans l'endroit ou 
est la ville de son nom, et non pas plus proche de Poitiers, comme a Cloue 
sur la Vonne, ou la mernoire de ce saint est honoree de terns immemorial. 
3°. L'arrangement que je donne aux deux armees, placant celle de Clo- 
vis sur le rivage gauche du Clain et de la Vonne, et celle d'Alaric sur le 
rivage droit de la meme riviere du Clain, mettoit Alaric a portee de rece- 
voir le secours qu'il attendoit de la route du Limousin ou de l'Auvergne ; 
et comme le narre de Gregoire de Tours, nous apprend que les Goths 



404 ILLUSTRATIONS. 

attaquerent d'abord de loin les Francs, et que ceux ci se rapprocherent d'ettx 
et les mirent en fuite ; il est a croire que les fuyards cotoyerent les bords 
du Clain etde la Clouere, ensorte quel'eclat du triomphe de Clovis auroit 
ete comme je 1'ai deja insinue, du cote de Champagne-Saint-Hilaire. 

" Ce nom en effect fait naitre quelques pensees, et je croy que traitant 
une matiere sur laquelle il est bon de donner des eclaircissemens, il est 
permis d'en tirer d'ou Ton peut. C'est pourquoi je prie le lecteur d'agreer, 
qu'au defaut de monumens anciens, autres que ceux que j'ai rapport^ 
ci-dessus, je fasse venir au seccurs de la verite jusqu'aux noms de lieu ; 
j'espere le faire sans rien produire qui choque la vraisemblance. C'est 
par ou je finirai cet ecrit. 

" La premiere pensee que dicte le nom de Champagne, est qu'il pour- 
roit tres bien tirer son origine du campus, ou campania Vocladensis, 
comme etant sur les bords ou a l'extremife de cette campagne. La 
eeconde est au sujet du surnom de Saint Hilaire, que je ne croirois pas 
tant venir, de ce que ce territoire et toutes ses dependances en grand nom- 
bre, sont du partrimoine de l'ancienne Abbaye de Saint Hilaire de Poitiers ; 
que de ce que c'est Clovis qui le donna a cette eglise selon la tradition, 
en reconnoissance de la victoire qu'il avoit remportee, par les prieres de 
S. Hilaire, sur les Gotbs Ariens. Je sgai bien que tout ceci, n'est fonde 
que sur un pretendu diplome de Clovis, qui est rapporte par Bouchet, 
dans ses Annates dWquitaine, et que le P. le Cointe regarde avec grande 
raison comme tres suspect. Mais on sgait que les faux titres, contien- 
nent quelquefois et presque toujours des verites. Les faussaires tachoient 
de dire le plus vrai qu'il leur eioit possible, et c'est parce que leur impe- 
ritie n'a pas permis qu'ils rencontrassent le vrai en tout, que souvent 
pour un article ou deux ou ils ont peche, un titre est rejette en entier. 
C'est pourquoi je pense qu'on peut admettre, que, reellement et de fait, 
Clovis donna a l'Eglise de S. Hilaire, tout le canton qu'il avoit gagnesur 
les fuyards du cdie de Champagne. Une donation de cette sorte, n'est 
pas plus improbable que celle de la terre de Milon, faite a la personne de 
S. Maisent par le meme prince, selon l'auteur de sa vie, que personne ne 
rejette. Un titre fabrique pour en representer un veritable qui est perdu, 
peut quelquefois meriter la mSme croyance a certains egards, qu'une 
legende renonvellee ou interpolee. Je sgai aussique le titre que Bouchet 
a produit comme de Clovis, marque qu'en meme terns il avoit donne a 
l'Eglise de S. Hilaire un ample domaine dit Long-Retz au diocese 
d'Auxerre. C'est en quoi, le fabricateur du titre se seroit le plus trompe, 
parce que probablement ce n'est que sur ce qu'on se ressouvenoit que le 
nom de Clovis avoit efe dans les titres primordiaux de ces donations, 
qu'il a confondu ce qui provenoit de Clovis II., ou de Clovis III., avec ce 
qui pouvoit avoir ete donne par Clovis I. Ce qui confirme la position 
que j'assigne au Campus Vocladensis, est que 1'on trouve dans le m£me 
canton des environs de Vivonne et de Batteresse, de quoi justifier la van- 
ante, tiree de la vie de S. Remi. Le combat y est dit avoir ete donne in 
Campo Mogotense super Jluvium Clinno. Cette campagne etoit diverse- 
ment denommee, suivant la fantaisie des ecrivains qui en parloient, 
Hincmar l'appelle Campus Mogotensis, parce qu'il connoissoit le petit 
Monastere de Meugon, qui tiroit son nom de celui d'un canton des plaines 
d'entre Poitiers et Vivonne, ou il est situe. Ce Meugon, encore connu 
sous le titre de Brieure, est au rivage gauche du Clain, presque vis-a-vis 
Batteresse. 

" Je n'ai qu'un mot a dire sur ce village de Batteresse. Son nom est 
singulier entre tous ceux des villages de France. II ne faut point aller 
chercher bien loin son origine, qui n'est autre que Battericia ; et il ne 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 405 

peat venir que de l'ancien verbe Latin Battuere, qui signifie Battre. Oe 
mot se trouva dans Plaute, et Cassiodore a fait mention de quelques-uns 
de ses derives. Etant constant que Batteresse signifie la meme chose 
que Batterie, l'application est facile a faire ; et Ton peut croire que ce 
fut en ce lieu, que les Francs commencerent a se rapprocher des Goths, 
et a les battre en forme. Aussi m'a-t-on dit que c'est de ce cdte — la 
qu'on voit le resie d'une batte, qui passe pour etre de douze cens ans, et 
qu'en tirant plus loin vers Champagne Saint Hilaire— on trouve sur 
une elevation, certains monumens qui font ressouvenir d'Alaric, et 
mime des lieu qui portent son nom. C'est sur quoi j'attends un plus 
ample eclaircissement." — Dissertation sur le Campus Vocladensis. Le 
Beuf, vol. i. p. 301. 

Note II.— Page 128. 

Post cujus finem Saxonicum, quod quasi intermissum videbatur, repe- 
tittim est, quo nullum neque prolixius neque atrocius, Francorumque 
populo laboriosius susceptum est : quia Saxones, sicut omnes fere Ger- 
manium incolentes nationes, et naturaferoces, et cultui daemonum dediti, 
nostra-que religioni contravii, neque d'vina, neque humana jura vel pol- 
luere, vel transgredi in honestum aibitrabantur. Suberant et causae, 
quae quotidie pacem conturbare poterant, termini videlicet nostri et illo- 
rum pene ubique in piano contigui, prater pauca loca, in quibus vel silvae 
majores, vel montium juga interjeeta, utrorumque agros certo limite 
disterminant : in quibus caedes et rapinae et incendia vicissim fieri non 
cessatant. Quibus aded Franci sunt irritati, ut non jam vicissitudinem 
reddere, sed apertum contra eos bellum suscipere dignum judicarent. 
Susceptum est igitur adversus eos bellum, quod magna utrinque ammosi- 
tate tamen majore Saxonum quam Francorum damno, per continuos 
triginta tres annos gerebatur. Poterai siquidem citiiis finiri, si Saxonum 
hoc pertidia pateretur. Difficile dictu est, quoties superati ac supplice9 
Regi se dediderunl, imperata facturos pollicili sunt, obsides qui impera- 
bantur absque dilatione dederunt. Legatos qui mittebantur susceperunt. 
Aliquottes ita domiti et emolliti, ut etiam cultum dcemonum dimittere, et 
Christiana? religioni se subdere velle promitterent. Sed sicut ad haec 
faciendi aliquoties proni, sic ad eadem pervertenda semper fuere prs- 
cipites ; ut satis non sit sestimare, ad utrum horum faciliores verius dici 
possint : quippe cum post inchoatum cum eis bellum vix annus unus 
exactus sit, quo non ab eis hujuscemodi facta sit permutatio. Sed mag- 
nanimitas Regis, ac perpetua tarn in adversis quam in prosperis mentis 
constantia, nulla eorum mutabilitate vel vinci poterat, vel ab his qua? 
agere cceperat defatigari. Nam nunquam eos hujuscemodi aliquid perpe- 
trantes impune ferre passus est, quin aut ipse per ce" ducto, aut per 
Comites suos misso exercitu, perfidiam ulciseretur et dignam ab eis 
po3nam exigeret ; usque dum omnibus qui resistere solebant profligatis, 
et in suam potestatem redactis, decern hominum millia ex his qui 
utrasque ripas Albis fluminis incolebant cum uxoribus et parvulis sub- 
latos transtulit et hue atque illuc per Galliam et Germaniam multimoda 
divisione distribuit. Eaque conditione a Rege proposita, et ab illis 
8uscepta tractum per tot annos bellum constat esse finitum, ut abjecto 
doamonum cultu, et relictes patriis ceremoniis Christiana? fidei atque reli- 
gionis sacramenta susciperent, et Francis adunati, unus cum eis popolua 
efficerentur. 



406 ILLUSTRATIONS. 



note III.— Page 180. 

In order to guard equally against any misstatement of my own, and 
any misstatement of Monsieur Gaillard, in regard to the events of 777, 
I subjoin his own words and those of Eginhard, to whom he himself 
refers. From him it would appear, that in 777 Charlemagne treated 
Saxony as a conquered province, which was called upon to send depu- 
ties, like the oilier provinces, to the general assembly of tlie empire at 
Paderbom ; and on this he builds a long and interesting hypothesis, 
which has only the one inconvenience of being totally in the face of his- 
torical facts : — 

" Charlemagne voulut enchalner les Saxons par les liens qu'il jugea 
les plus puissants sur les hommes : ce furent ceux de la religion. Apres 
les deux autre soulevements de Saxons, il avoit agi en vainquenr qui 
accorde la paix ; cette fois il agit en maltre qui pardonne ; il avoit traite, 
it ordonna : il avoit pluiot invite que force les Saxons au bapteme ; cette 
fois il en fit une condition absolue de la grace qu'il vouloit bien accorder. 
Mais cet article peut-il etre l'object d'une convention ou d'uneordre? 
Que pretendoit Charlemagne? Que les Saxons fussent Chretiens. 
Que promettoient et qu'exeeutoienf les Saxons 1 Une ceremonie. lis 
se faisoient baptiser. Avec la persuasion, pourquoi des cornmandements 
et des promesses 1 Sans la persuasion, a quoi bon des promesses et des 
cornmandements] Les Saxons ne virent dans ce qu'on ex geoit d'eux 
qu'une formalite tres aisee a remplir, et ils se trouverent fort heureux 
d'obtenir la paix a ce prix. Une si prompte obeissance devoit etre sus* 
pecte ; mais Charlemagne songeoit a donner de la consistance et des 
effects reels a cette formalite : il affectoit de regarder la reunion des 
deux peuples comme consommee par 1'unite de foi et de culte; en con- 
sequence, les Saxons furent appeles aux deliberations communes, il 
furent invites a l'assemblee du Champ-de-Mai de 777, qui devoit se tenir 
pour cette raison a Paderborn, clans leur propre pays; ou esperoit peu 
qu'ils s'y trouvassent, et ce fut pour les Frangais une surprise fort agre- 
able d'y voir arriver leurs differentes peuplades, conduits par leurs 
chefs a la reserve d'un seul ; mais ce ceul chef etoil tout, — e'etoit 
Vitikind. Incapable de toute feints et de toute foiblesse, incapable de 
mentir a Dieu et aux hommes, il ne vouloit ni etre ni paroltre Chretien et 
et Frangais." 

Monsieur Gaillard cites Eginhard's Annals : What do we find that 
they contain in regard to this transaction 1 — 

"Rex prima veris aspirante temperie, Noviomagum profectus est, et 
post celebratam ibidem Paschalis festi solemnitatem, propter fraudu- 
lentas Saxonum promissiones, quibus fidem habere non poterat, ad locum, 
qui Padrabrunna vocatur, generalem populi sui conventum in eo habi- 
turus, cum ingenti exercim in Saxoniam profectus est. Ed ciim venis- 
set, totum perfidae gentis senatum ac populum, quern ad se venire jus- 
serat, morigerum ac fallaciter, sibi devotum invenit." — Eginhardi An- 
nates, A. D. 777. 

If from this account it can be made out that the Saxons were invited 
to the Champ-de-Mai at Paderborn, and came thither as a part of the 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 40? 

deliberative assemb'y of the Franks,— or, in short, if this account of 
Eginhard can be reconciled in any point with the account of M. Gaillard, 
who quotes him,— the reasonings of that gentleman have at least a founda- 
tion. At the same time, however, it is to be remarked, that in no 
authority whatever do we find that Charlemagne at thai time in tdc bap- 
tism a condition, as Monsieur Gaillard states. The whole is entirely 
the creation of his own brain ; and it is thus that the course of history 
is unhappily too often perverted. Charlemagne is by this means repre- 
sented as forcing baptism on the Saxons, when the truth is that the Sax- 
ons, on the contrary, as a means of deceit, pretended to be desirous of 
embracing the religion of their conqueror. The words of Eginhard are 
precise. " Baptisata est ex eis ibidem maxima multitudoqus sequamvis 
falso Christianam fieri velle promiserat." The Saxon annalist says that 
a crowd of Saxons " credere se Christo simulans bapiisma recepit." 

Note IV.— Page 296. 

The following short extracts from the fourth dissertation of Ducange 
will throw more light upon the general assemblies of the French people 
than any thing I could write upon the subject : — 

" Dans le premier etablissement de la monarchic Frangaise, les rois 
ont choisi une saison de Pannee pour faire des assemblies generates de 
leurs peuples, pour y recevoir leurs plaintes, et pour y faire de nou- 
veaux reglemens et de nouvelles lois, qui devoient etre recues d'uu con- 
sentement universel. lis faisoient encore une revue exacte de leurs sol- 
dats, A cause de quoi quelques auteurs ont ecrit que ces assemblies 
furent nominees Champs de Mars, du nom de la Deite qui presidoit a la 
guerre," <fcc. 

****** 

" Mais il est bien plus probable que ces assemblee furent ainsi nom- 
inees parce qu'elles se faisoient au commencement du mois de Mars. 
La Chronique de Fredegaire parlant de Pepin, — Evoluto anno prcefatus 
rex a Kal. Mart, omnes Francos, sicut mos Francorum est, Bernaco 
villa ad se venire praicepit" &c. 

****** 
" Cette coutume de convoquer les peuples au premier jour de Mars eut 
cours longtems sous la premiere race de nos rois. Mais Pepin, jugeant 
que cette saison n'etait pas propre encore pour faire la reveue des troupes, 
et encore moins pour les inettre en campagne, changea ce jour au pre- 
mier de Mai, < 'est ce que nous apprenons de Fredegaire ■ Ibi placit.um 
suum campo Madia, quod ipse primus pro campo Martio, pro utihtate 
Francorwn instituit, tenens multis muneribus d Francis et proceribus 
suis ditatus est." 

****** 
"Hincmar Archevesque de Reims dit que ces presens se faisoient par 
les peuples aux rois pour leur donner moyen de travailler fr leur defense 
et a celle de l'etat : causa suce defensionis. Quant a ce qu'il les appelle 
dons annuels, cela est confirme par plusieurs passages de nos annales 
qui se servent souvent de ces termes : Celles qui ont ete tire de l'Abbaye 
de S. Berlin : Ibique habito generali conventu, et oblata sibi Annua 
Dona solenni more suscepit et legationes plurimas, quoe tarn de Roma 



408 ILLUSTRATIONS. 

et Benevento, quam et de aliis longinquis terris ad eum venerant, audi' 
vit, atque absolvit. Ce qui montre encore qu'on reservoit les occasions 
de ces assemblies pour recevoir les ambassadeurs, afin de leur faire voir 
la magnificence de ces cours royales." 

* * * * * * 

" Les presens qui se faisoient aux rois n'etoieot pas toujours en argent, 
mais en especes, et souvent en chevaux * * * * 

Le Camerier,— c'est a dire, le Garde du Tresor du Roy, avoit la charge 
de recevoir ces presens, et etoit soumis en cette function a la reyne, a qui 
elle appartenoit de droit. Hincmar ecrivant de l'ordre du palais de nos 
rois : De honestate vero palatii, seu specialiter ornamento regali, nee non 
et de Donis Annuls militum, absque cibo et potu, vel equis, ad reginam 
pracipui et sub ipsa ad Camerarium pertinebat.'", 

****** 

"Ces assemblies generales se tinrent d'abord une fois l'armee, au 
premier jour de Mars, ce qui fut depuis remis au premier de Mai ainsi 
que j'ai remarque. Mais, sous la seconde race, comme les etats de nos 
princes, et par consequent les affaires, s'accrurent extraordinairement, 
ils Curent aussi obliges de multiplier ces assemblies pour dormer ordre 
aux necessites publiques, et pour regler les differents qui naissoient de 
terns en terns entre les peuples; de sorte qu'ils en tenaient deux, — l'une 
au commencement de l'an, l'autre sur la fin vers les mois d'Aout, ou de 
Septernbre." 



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FAMILY CLASSICAL LIBRARY. 



The Publishers have much pleasure in recording 
the following testimonials in recommendation of the 
Family Classical Library. 

"Mr. Valpy has projected a Family Classical Library. The idea is 
excellent, and the work cannot fail to be acceptable to youth of both sexes, 
as well as to a large portion of the reading community, who have not had 
the benefit of a learned education." — Gentleman's Magazine, Dec. 1829. 

" We have here the commencement of another undertaking for the more 
general distribution of knowledge, and one which, if as well conducted 
as we may expect, bids fair to occupy an enlarged station in our imme- 
diate literature. The Volume before us is a specimen well calculated to 
recommend what are to follow. Leland's Demosthenes is an excellent 
work." — Lit. Gazette. 

" This work will be received with great gratification by every man who 
knows the value of classical knowledge. All that we call purity of taste, 
vigour of style, and force of thought, has either been taught to the modem 
world by the study of the classics, or has been guided and restrained by 
those illustrious models. To extend the knowledge of such works is to 
do a public service." — Court Journal. . 

"The Family Classical Library is another of those cheap, useful, and 
elegant works, which we lately spoke of as forming an era in our pub- 
lishing history." — Spectator. 

" The p esent era seems destined to be honourably distinguished in 
literary history by the high character of the works to which it is succes- 
sively giving birth. Proudly independent of the fleeting taste of the day, 
they boast substantial worth which vsan never be disregarded ; they put 
forth a claim to permanent estimation. The Family Classical Library is 
a noble undertaking, which the name of the editor assures us will be exe- 
cuted in a style worthy of the great originals." — Morning Post. 

" This is a very promising speculation ; and as the taste of the day runs 
just now very strongly in favour of such Miscellanies, we doubt not it 
will meet with proportionate success. It needs no adventitious aid, how- 
ever influential ; it has quite sufficient merit to enable it to stand on 
its own foundation, and will doubtless assume a lofty grade in public 
favour." — Sun. 

" This work, published at a low price, is beautifully got up. Though 
to profess to be content with translations of the Classics has been de- 
nounced as ' the thin disguise of indolence,' there are thousands who 
have no leisure for studying the dead languages, who would yet like to 
know what was thought and said by the sages and poets of antiquity. 
To therr this work will be a treasure ." — Sunday Times. 

" This design, which is to communicate a knowledge of the most 
esteemed authors of Greece and Rome, by the most approved translations, 
to those from whom their treasures, without such assistance, would be 
hidden, must surely be approved by every friend of literature, by every 
lover of mankind. We shall only say of the first volume, that as the 
execution well arcords with the design, it must command general appro- 
bation." — The Observer. 

" We see no reason why this work should not find its way into the 
boudoir of the lady, as well as into the library of the learned. It is cheap, 
portable, and altogether a work which may safely be placed in the hands 
Of persons of both sexes." — Weekly Free Press. 



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